


I Promise

by thatorangedrank



Series: The Promise [1]
Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: F/M, Fluff and Smut, Graphic Description, Major Original Character(s), Masturbation, Smut
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-07-04
Updated: 2017-03-03
Packaged: 2018-02-07 12:13:55
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Underage
Chapters: 12
Words: 23,682
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1898592
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thatorangedrank/pseuds/thatorangedrank
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Gray can't keep his promises, and so Rin never believes his promises.</p><p>How the hell can he make her believe that he promises to love her?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Social Activities

_Gray looked up at the sky. He and Natsu had just been fighting when they both ended up on the ground. The blue sky made him sort of irritated, but it also made him wonder if something would happen. It just seemed so boring and silent. Something had to be happening. Right?_

_Suddenly the back door to the guild was opened to reveal Macao and Wakaba emerging behind the master and Erza. Her hair was in a braid. Not quite sure why he took notice of that but, ok._

_“Hey, Master!” Macao shouted. He had something draped over his shoulder as he reached around to pick it up. He dangled it in front of him smiling widely. “We found our little imposter!”_

_Many random shouts from a tiny voice could be heard as the dangling thing began to move. Gray couldn’t believe it took him this long to realize it was a girl. But when she looked up, he all about froze in his spot as electric, yellow eyes pierced through him._

Gray woke with a bit of a start. He was in his own apartment with the covers of his bed about halfway down his chest. He slowly sat up, his eyes still about half closed. The rays of the morning sun glared through his blinds, lighting up the floor of his bedroom. It was… a wreck. His blinds were half falling off, clothes littered the floor, and dishes were piled up on every surface. Yep. It was home. At least to a 15 year old it was.

He took a look at his alarm clock, it read 9:23 am. He yawned widely and stretched his arms up. As he climbed out of bed (naked of course who do you think we’re talking about here), Gray wondered why the hell he just dreamt about that. Sure it was his first time meeting Rin but how else was he supposed to meet her?  It was Rin, that’s just how it was.

That, of course, was about five years ago. He had been ten at the time, she was… what? nine? Yeah that sounded right. Anyways she’s 14 now.

He pulled on a shirt, some boxers, and… oh! Pants. Can’t forget those. Very crucial for social activities. Deciding to eat at the guild, he grabbed his wallet and made his way out. He entered the guild hall, avoiding the pulsing sense of rage emitting from both Erza and Mirajane, and sat down at the bar.

“Can I just have like a breakfast burger or something?” He asked the bartender.

“Yeah sure thing, Gray, it’ll be 20 jewel.”

He reached into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet. As he opened it he realized he barely had enough to cover his meal. Welp. Guess it was about time to get another job anyways. He ate the small meal in about four bites, brushed the crumbs off on his shirt, and walked over to the bulletin board swallowing the last of his food. Knowing Natsu was out on a job, Gray didn’t have to worry about being jumped and having the beginning of his day ruined.

As the board came into view Gray slightly smiled. If it wasn’t the python herself. There was Rin, close up on the board trying to find a job. Her long jet black hair (darker than his) cascaded down her back, barely past her butt. As he approached he could hear her grumbling to herself. “Ugh. Oh come on…”

“No good jobs?” He asked, about a foot behind her.

She jumped, spinning around, her yellow eyes instantly finding his. Her pupils were narrowed slits, showing he had genuinely surprised her. It didn’t happen often. Her having characteristics of a snake made her hyper aware of all the vibrations around her. She must have been pretty focused/aggravated about finding a job that she didn’t feel him coming. Her snake eyes instantly returned to normal human eyes upon seeing him. “Oh hey, Gray.” She visibly relaxed. He stepped forward to stand right next to her as her gaze returned to the board, saying in an irritated voice. “And no. They’re all poor paying jobs and boring quests to boot.” She placed her right hand on her waist and cocked her hips toward Gray, her other hand raising to rest on the left side of her neck, slightly covering her green mark. “Definitely nothing that would suit Haya and I’s standards.” And as if on cue, the green, little, foot long familiar emerged from Rin’s long hair and onto her hand.

Rin was a Familiar Wizard, a wizard who uses an animal that they have spiritually connected with to fight. They are extremely rare. As a matter of fact Rin is the only Familiar Wizard who Gray has met. She was the only one in the guild and was quite popular throughout Fiore. She had gained a title as one of The Great Snake Wizards. While they weren’t nearly as strong as the Great Wizard Saints, it was extremely rare to see a wizard working with creatures as unpredictable as snakes. Rin had gained the name of the Ferocious Python Rin King due to her Familiar Magic being able to make Haya into a 50 foot long killer Python. Rin could actually adjust Haya’s size to whatever she pleased. Each Familiar Wizard has their own unique power with their familiar as well as characteristics of their familiar. Rin’s eyes become snake-like and her teeth grow to fangs as well as her tongue slims down.

Familiar Magic is only one part of her magic. Rin and Haya also used poison magic, making them immune to any and all poisons. Rin’s magic was a very up close magic. she uses two daggers, infused with her poison to stab and give the impression that the victim is being bitten by a snake. This was as much as Gray knew about Rin and Haya. He had no idea how far their spiritual connection really was, or how deep it was.

Haya’s eyes rested upon Gray, the snake gave a small smile, tilting her head to the side and closing her eyes. “Haya!” The small serpent raspily let out.

Gray smiled back at her. “Morning, Haya.”

She flicked her tongue at him and then turned to Rin, rubbing the top of her head up against her pale cheek. Rin leaned into it, raising her left hand to stroke Haya gently as her focus returned to the requests. “Yeah, these are all like ‘Find my dog!’ or ‘Weed out my garden!’. Nothing for us.”

“So why don’t you choose the highest paying one that you can do easily and fast?” Gray asked, scanning through them. “Like this one! 2,000 jewel to babysit for a week? You’re good with kids, right?”

Not even bothering to look at him, she said slightly irritated “Yeah but did you even read the fine print on that one?”

He took it down and looked closer at it. “One week…. Two towns over…. Must be a male and female couple?”

She sighed. “Yeah. It’s just me and Haya remember? Also I don’t have a boyfriend. So if you know a guy who’d be willing to act all lovey dovey with me-” The sarcasm and irritability was practically dripping from her pores. “-let me know.” Haya had returned to the shelter of Rin’s hair to sleep.

“I’ll be your boyfriend.”

Rin’s eyes slitted quickly as a pink tint began to form upon her cheeks. She turned to face him. “What?”

“Yeah I’ll do it.” He said handing her the flyer. “It just says they need a male female couple, but it doesn’t say it can’t be a fake couple.” His face gave away no emotion though on the inside he was cursing at himself for saying he’d be her boyfriend.

Her eyes returned to normal, as she said “Oh. Yeah.” She took the flyer, looking down at it bashfully, but her blush and shy attitude quickly faded back to her normal irritated mood. “But you know the master has to check off on the job! If he sees that and then announces it then-!”

Gray took it back from her, walking towards the master. “If we just show it to him and then quickly leave there won’t be anytime for him to react.”

Rin quickly walked after him. “B-but! I could just pick a different job, you don’t need to-.”

“Look I need a little extra cash, I already paid my rent but I need food money.” He said slightly ignoring her.

He could practically feel her anger rise slightly. “Gray, so help me-”

He stopped quickly and turned around to look at her. “It’ll be fine. No one will know that you and I are pretending.” He looked into her yellow eyes with his deep blue ones. “I promise.” She hesitated before agreeing. “Great.” He turned to walk back to the master. “Now would you hurry it up. I don’t want people to think you and I are a thing.”

He heard her mocking his last sentence and he rolled his eyes. They found the master sitting on the bar drinking. The blush across his face showed that he was about half hammered at the time. “Well hel-lo! What can I do for ye?”

Gray took in a deep breath before saying. “Rin and I are taking this job, we got our info, ok bye, Gramps!” He shoved the flyer into his lap, turned and started pushing Rin towards the door only to be stopped by an old, drunk man.

“Woah! Woah now!” He picked up the flyer. “Let’s take a lo- HIC!- look at this thingy here.” Gray and Rin’s blood ran cold. “Hmm…. You’re babysitting for a couple for a week. Oo 2,000 jewel? Must be a rich couple. Heh. Kunugi thats not to far…. Yep. Looks good.” Just when they thought they were off the hook they heard a “Wait…. A couple? You two aren’t dating…. OR!!!!” They both went beet red. “AHAHA HEY EVERYONE GRAY AND RIN ARE DAAAATIIING!!!!!!!!!!!”

The entire guild began to riot. Wizards were hooting and shouting, making fun of the fake couple that they didn’t know was fake. Rin’s temper had finally reached its peak. Her shoulders were hunched as she shook with anger. Her red face squeezed tight as she reached her clenched fist up and shot it back down, taking Gray’s with a death grip, pulling him out of the guild hall as he let out whines of pain.


	2. Thank God For Haya

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gray learns a little bit more about Rin on their train ride to Kunugi

_Gray sat in the guild hall next to Cana, she was doing her usual card thing when he saw that girl leave from a room with the Master close behind her. He was leading her to the bar where he picked her up and had her sit on the table. He jumped up there himself and reached behind the counter for a stamp. Gray was fairly close so he could hear what they were saying._

_“Now what color would you like young lady?”_

_She put her hand over her chin to think about it. Her jet black hair was short and easily curved around her face. “A dark green please.” She asked._

_The Master nodded. “And where would you like it?”_

_Her yellow eyes lit up as she said, “On my neck please!”_

_The Master cocked his head to the side. “Your neck?”_

_She nodded. “I want her to be able to look at it whenever she wants!” The old man chuckled and within five seconds she had Fairy Tail’s emblem on her neck. He gave her a mirror and she looked at it ecstatically. She giggled then asked, “What do you think?”_

_Gray nearly jumped out of his skin as he saw a small, green snake emerge from the collar of her jacket and onto her neck. The snake seemed to look at it for a long while before it happily rubbed up against it letting out a raspy “Haya!”_

“Haya!”

Gray jolted awake upon seeing the green snake merely an inch away from his face. “Ah!” His jumping launched Haya into the air and back into Rin’s lap. His wild eyes looked everywhere very quickly before he remembered he was on the train with Rin on their way to Kunugi. He took a deep breath before he straightened himself out in his seat. It took him a good few minutes before he realized Rin was staring at him with a confused/amused look on her face. His eyebrows knitted. “What?”

“What was that?” She asked, holding Haya in her lap.

“What was what?” He asked defensively.

She calmly placed Haya on the window pane before quickly placing a hand on the window and one on the seat, bringing her knees up to her chest, leaning back against the seat before looking around wildly with wide eyes. She soon returned to her normal self picking Haya up once more and placing her on her shoulder. “That.”

Gray’s eyes narrowed. “Were you mocking me?”

“Was it not obvious? Do you want me to do it again?”

“No.” They remained silent for about 10 minutes before Gray asked. “Didn’t your hair used to be super short? Like-” He brought his hands up to his face, measuring it on himself. “about this long?”

Rin cocked an eyebrow. “Yeah?”

He brought his hands down. “It was nice.”

“Are you saying my hair is too long?”

“No.”

“Good.” They returned to silence.

….

….

“Haya haya.”

“Yeah it is a pretty day isn’t?”

“Haya haya haya?”

“No it won’t be that much longer on the train.”

Gray stared at the two as they had a conversation, he’d almost forgotten that one of the abilities of Familiar Wizards was being able to talk to their familiar. A question itched at the back of his head as he watched the two communicate. “Hey, Rin?” She looked up and gave a hm. “Were you and Haya able to talk to each other right off the bat? Or did you guys have to build up to it?”

Rin seemed a little surprised by that question. “Oh. Well, we could hear each other almost immediately, and it wasn’t a problem when we talked, but it was almost agonizing to have the same thoughts during the Healing Time.” Gray gave a confused look. “Oh you probably don't’ know what the Healing Time is do you? The Healing Time is when the wizard and their familiar first make the connection and they have to learn to deal with their new senses and personality traits. One of the more frustrating ones is having the other’s thoughts in your head. That includes all the memories, every experience you’ve ever felt, all coming into your mind at once.”

Gray’s eyes widened, his past was pretty fucked up, he couldn’t even imagine someone else going through everything he ever went through just suddenly. “Sounds like hell.” He commented.

Rin let out a sigh. “It was.” She then gave a sweet grin. “But it was totally worth it. Now I have a friend who knows what’s wrong without asking, and who can put positive thoughts in my head when I’m feeling down. Sure it was difficult at first, but I became used to feeling her comforting buzz inside my head.”

The Ice Mage smiled. “It must be nice having a supportive friend always around. You said something about personality changes and new senses?”

Rin smiled. “Oh yeah!” She seemed to enjoy being asked about her powers. “When you make the connection, you acquire all these new senses. Like me being able to feel the vibrations in the Earth; I couldn’t do that before I had Haya. I also gained physical features as you may well know.”

“But what was your personality like before you met Haya? I bet you were way nicer then you are now.” Rin instantly shot him a glare, giving him a mini-panic attack. He should’ve kept his mouth shut. Damn him. Just shut up, Gray, you fucking idiot! Rin was really scary when she was mad ok??? When she got pissed her strength increased drastically, he assumed it had to do with her inner python coming out and wanting to constrict her victims. In fact she was right up there with Erza and Mira. She came in about third as one of the more scary girls in their generation of wizards. He knew this and yet he was an idiot and let his mouth run away without his brain again.

Through clenched teeth, narrowed eyes, and a stiff body, Rin replied with. “I’m actually… a lot calmer… than I used. To. Be.”

“Yeah! No, totally! I believe you! Haya helped calm you down then yeah! That’s cool. Real cool!” He was rambling. “But ya know you’re a pretty calm person I can’t even imagine you being and less calm than right now. You’re like on pain killers you're so calm.”

“It’s true!”

“I believe you!!”

Rin let out a sigh. “Contrary to belief, Haya was the rational one of us, and still is.” She stared out the window, as if searching for something. “She helped guide me out of the hatred filled life I was living… If it wasn’t for her… I wouldn’t be here right now.”

Gray stared at her pretty face. She really was quite beautiful, it was difficult to imagine what someone like her went through. He didn’t even know, but he did know that something similar to what happened to him, happened to her. She was still staring out the window, eyes distant. His hand reached forward and grasped hers. She jumped, surprised again, looking at their hands, and then up to him. “Well thank God for Haya. ‘Cause if she didn’t, I wouldn’t have a fake girlfriend to help me make some money.”

Rin let out a small, airy laugh. “I guess we do have to start acting like a couple, we’re almost to town.”

“Yeah. “ He said as he moved seats to sit next to her, still holding her hand. “If you start to feel uncomfortable about this, just let me know and we can go home.”

“The same goes to you. I don’t want to risk our friendship.”

He smiled down at her. “I don’t think that’ll be a problem.”

She smiled back.

**He… really liked her smile.**


	3. Gray Was Coughing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rin and Gray arrive in Kunugi and meet their employers

They stepped off the train once they made it to Kunugi. Gray stepped off carrying both his satchel and Rin’s small, rolly suitcase. She didn’t normally bring it along on missions unless she was going on one that would take more than a week. His satchel was wrapped around his shoulder, going across his body, while the suitcase was being held in his left hand. He waited a few moments before Rin stepped off after him. He reached his right hand out, offering it to her as she made the final step. She took it and they instantly began walking closer together. “Let’s go ask that help center guy where the Ve Belle estate is.” She pulled his hand to follow her. He just shrugged and went along with it. They’d grown up with this system and it just came naturally. Ever since they were little, Rin would grab his hand to pull him somewhere to show him God knows what. (There was actually a more aggressive version of this technique shown in Chapter One) As they walked up, the help attendant was instantly willing to help.

“Well hello there! How can I help you, young lady?” The greasy man asked.

Rin smiled. “Hi! We are out of town visiting some good friends, and we were wondering if you could lend us directions to the Ve Belle estate?”

“I most assuredly can.” He did nothing but continued to smile at Rin.

Gray’s eyebrows knitted slightly. What was this guy doing? He then followed his gaze and realized it wasn’t Rin’s face he was staring at. Gray felt a slight irritation begin to grow. Did he not see them holding hands? “Could you get them now? We’re in a bit of a rush.” He said with a tense voice.

The man’s attention went from Rin to Gray and he instantly frowned. “Yes I suppose so.” As he turned Gray’s thoughts began shouting.

You suppose so????

Gray saw him writing a list of directions from here to the estate when the man starting talking to Rin again. “So how long are you in town for?”

“About a week.” She answered.

“Oh really? Are you free anytime?”

Seriously?? Are you fucking serious right now???

“No, we’re pretty full all week.”

“Well if you and your brother-” Look at our hands you dumb fuck. “have any spare time…” He leaned in and held out the directions. “I’d be glad to show you around town.” He smiled and stared at Rin creepily.

Gray snatched the directions out of his hand. “Thanks.” He said with a bitter tone. Now that he had the directions he could speak his mind without paying for the consequences. “Now if you would stop being creepy and looking at her boobs, you would actually be able to see we’re holding hands.” He raised their hands and practically shoved them in the surprised attendant's face. “Also there’s no way 14 year old girl would ever possibly want to go out with an old greasy man. And by the way, fucktard, _I’m her boyfriend not her brother_.”  Gray let go of Rin’s hand, using his to turn her around and get her as far away as possible from that asshole.

He heard the angry man stutter. “A simple t-thanks would have been just f-fine!”

Gray didn’t even bother to turn around as he replied with. “Whatever, asswipe.” He continued walking away, with his right hand pressed to the small of Rin’s back.  As they exited the train station, his hand was still pushing her. “Yeesh what a creep.” He noticed Rin had been stunningly silent. “You alright?”

Her head nodded, eyes widening slightly. “Yeah just… Wow.”

“‘Wow’ what?” He asked as they paused at a bench to take a look at the directions.

He handed her the paper to read. “You really didn’t hold back did you?” She said with an amused smile as she unfolded the paper.

Gray grunted. “I just hate guys like that who are so blinded by their own patheticness, they don’t even bother to make sure the girl they're hitting on is-”

“Oh my God.”

“What?”

“He left his address.”

“Gimmie that.” Gray took it back and sure enough there was an address and a winky face next to it. Gray’s eye twitched before he took the paper and ripped the address out folding it neatly up and handing it off to some random stranger. “Hey, buddy, here you go. Thanks.” He turned back to Rin and gave the paper back. “Let’s leave either super early next week or super late.”

“Yeah.” She said bluntly. She scanned through the directions before looking up at him again. “Well anyways, thanks. That happens to me a lot more than I’d like to let on. And every time I point it out I get accused of wanting attention.”

“Well,” He reached down to pick up the suitcase again. “like I said, they’re scum. And now you have me to look out for you. Well, for the next week at least.” He added the last part in so suddenly, like he was trying to make up for something. He felt like smashing his head into the ground. “Which way?” He asked trying to change the subject.

“Um…” She looked at the paper once more. “Take a right on… Adams Street.”

He held out his hand. “Lead the way.”

Still not looking up from the paper, she took his hand and led him down the road.

It was dark before they arrived at the mansion. It was all the way across town and then a little bit out of it. Gray was only a little surprised that Rin hadn’t asked to stop to rest or to eat. But then again, she was as tough as most of the guys in the guild. Like I said, she was the third most terrifying woman in Fairy Tail.

As they walked up to the large double doors, Rin knocked on it. They waited a few minutes before Gray said. “I don’t think they heard it.”

“Well how are we supposed to work if they don’t answer the door?” She said bitterly.

“Maybe these aren’t just for decorations?” He asked pointing at the two large knockers that decorated each door. “Look they’ve got magic circles engraved on each one. Maybe it’s so who ever answers the door will hear it throughout the house.”

Rin shrugged. “Let’s give ‘em a try.” She reached her hand up but… she couldn’t reach. She jumped, trying to catch one but that didn’t work either. Her face was becoming pink with anger.

Gray watched with amusement before he said. “You know, there are ones closer to the ground.” He pointed at the smaller knockers that came up to her waist.

“No way! Those are kiddie knockers and I refuse to be outdone by these stupid doors!” She jumped until she ran out of breath, leaning over with her hands on her knees.

Chuckling, Gray put the suitcase down and reached up, easily taking one and knocking three times. It was just as loud as when Rin knocked if not quieter. “Maybe I was wrong…”

Rin groaned. “Well ain’t that the God damn-!”

Suddenly the door opened, revealing a beautiful woman in her late twenties. “Why, hello.” She smiled.

Gray was slightly stunned by her beauty. “Uh-hi. We’re the babysitters?”

She squealed and hugged him tightly, surprising him a little. “Oh thank you so much for coming!” She released him and hugged Rin with as much force.

“Oh! Well-” Rin was equally as shocked. “It’s really no big deal.”

She released Rin and Excitedly motioned them inside. “Come! Come!” She held the door open for them.

Rin walked in before Gray into an entry hallway. “Thank you. It’s a very nice... house.”

The woman closed the door. “Why thank you, my husband is in the sitting room. Please come this way.”

As she passed them to lead the way, Gray looked down at Rin, mouthing. “Sitting room?” To which Rin simply shrugged and followed the woman. They entered a large room with two cream colored loveseats sitting across from one another with a glass coffee table between them. On the coffee table sat four cups of hot spearmint tea. The scent drifted up and made itself at home in Gray’s nose. Around the room sat a grand piano with the top lifted up, a large wall window with a window seat along the whole window, another large couch placed directly behind one of the loveseats facing a lit fireplace, and an incredibly large bookcase covering the entire wall around the door they had just entered.

Gray and Rin stared in awe of the marvelous room. “You must be Rin and Gray.” A deep voice brought their attention back to the situation at hand. At one of the loveseats stood a tall man with dark brown hair that was slicked back. He had on one of those dark red fancy robes that only extremely wealthy people wear, (You’ve seen movies) and he was very handsome on top of that. The woman made her way and stood very close to him. Her blonde hair was laying down over her shoulders and it did not reach far past them. Her light blue dress did not cover her shoulders and it looked as though the sleeves were not even attached to the dress at all. It looked as if it supported her breasts comfortably but from her chest down it was a free flowing dress. They were a gorgeous couple that made every other couple in the world unable to compare to their gentle looks. He used his arm to motion to the loveseat across from him and his wife. “Please, take a seat.”

Rin and Gray shuffled their way over to the small couch and sat down, the couple sat down as soon as they did. “How about some music?” The wife asked. Before they could answer she waved her dainty hand in the air and the grand piano began a very soft, gentle, quiet melody. She relaxed into the couch a little more, her hands in her lap, her posture still perfect. “That’s better.” She said with a smile.

The husband, whose arm was resting on the back of the loveseat, over his wife, said. “Darling, that tune is different. Are you composing a new song?”

“Oh yes.” She replied. “I thought I would write a new lullabye for Jonathan. Do you like it?”

He smiled warmly at her. “It’s beautiful, my love. I’m sure he’ll love it.” He turned back to Rin and Gray. “My wife is a musical wizard. She has the ability to control any and all sound; she mostly uses it to compose music for any plays that pay correctly. She is also a skilled performer herself. She has the voice of an angel and is able to control more than 40 instruments at once.”

“That’s incredible.” Rin praised.

“Why thank you. But, Dear, we need to discuss the job. That _is_ why they’re here.” She said, gently nudging him back on topic.

“Oh yes!” He said suddenly. “My name is Shane Ve Belle, and this is my wife, Renae Ve Belle.” He motioned to her, his eyes remaining on her a second longer before he continued. “We are going out of town tomorrow and as you have been informed, we have a five year old son.”

“Normally one of us stays to take care of him if one of us is out of town for a concert, or a business meeting.” Renae explained.

“Precisely, however I have an important presentation to go to that is quite a way out of town. And my wife has a play to attend that is going to last a week.” Gray reached down for his tea. “Oh allow me.” Shane’s hand was facing palm up, as he gave it a gentle flick. The tea moved forward and was placed perfectly into Gray’s hand. “Normally my telekinesis magic is enough to ward off any intruders, as well as my wife’s music control. But with both of us being out of town for the next week, we want our son to be safe.”

“We are very rich after all and we are afraid our son will be captured and used as a ransom.” Mrs. Ve Belle explained further.

Gray finished his sip and asked. “So why don’t one of you just take him with you? It would sure save you the money and the worrying.”

Shane’s eyebrows raised quickly. “Believe me, we’d like to.”

“He just means that Jonathan has a difficult time listening to to us if the other one isn’t around.” She explained. “He has this strange concept that without a woman a man doesn’t have the authority to tell him what to do, and vice versa. Which is why we made a special request for a male and female couple to come watch over him.”

“We also chose a guild that has experience with fighting missions because we want him to see other forms of magic before he chooses one he wants to learn for the rest of his life.”

“We also want him to get to know other people because he is a very shy boy. That and his silly idea about who is in charge is one of the reasons he is being homeschooled.”

“Where is he now?” Rin asked.

Renae answered with, “Oh he’s in bed.” Rin shifted a little bit away from Gray. The Ve Belle couple exchanged a look with each other before turning back to Rin and Gray. “You two aren’t really dating are you?” Renae asked.

The question caught them both off guard. Rin sat up straight while Gray almost choked on the tea he had been drinking. “How could you tell?” Rin asked as Gray was still coughing up a storm.

She smiled politely. “It was the way you moved away from him. Almost too close for comfort and you two were barely touching to start with.”

“And the way he doesn’t look at you.” Shane inputed. He turned to look at his beloved wife. “Every man looks at the woman he loves when she isn’t staring. I’m so in love with her I don’t even try to hide it anymore.” He smiled.

“Anymore!” Renae scoffed. “You never hid it. My first words to him were ‘Is there something on my face?’ because he wouldn’t look away from me.”

“How can I not?” He leaned in and gave her a quick peck on the cheek.

“Dying here!!” Gray managed to say, still coughing.

Rin rolled her eyes and reached her arm around to pat his back. “Oh don’t be a baby.”

“A ba-by???” Gray coughed out, his eyes watering. He looked up at her, she was staring down at him, her yellow eyes were not amused, but in turn glittered with concern. He got lost in them again. The same way he did when he first met her. Those electric eyes sent shivers down his spine. It was like looking at a dull light in a completely dark room. It’s the only thing you see. You try to look away but it is so unfamiliar you can’t. The darkness around it pulsing and hurting your eyes. You want to look away. But you can’t.

Gray suddenly realized he had been holding his breath and the cough he held in his throat needed an out. He let out another hefty cough and looked down, his elbows on his knees as he hunched over, coughing.

…

Gray was coughing.

…

Renae sat up. “Well, I had better show these two to their room.”

Shane gently touched her arm. “No, no, Darling. You answered the door; let me.”

“Oh, Shane, you spoil me.” She placed one hand on her blushing cheek.

He pulled the hand away and kissed it. “How can I not?” He stood, motioning the teens to follow him. “Come. This way to your room.” Rin stood, pulling one of Gray’s arms with her and yanking him along. He was still coughing.

By the time they made it to the room he had stopped coughing. (Gray was still coughing ((No he isn’t shut up)) Ok.)

Shane mind-opened the door to reveal a large guest room. It had a queen sized bed, a large closet, a large mahogany desk with a lamp, a large dresser, an enormous vanity, a full sized couch, and it’s own bathroom.

Rin gapped at the amazing sight. Gray nearly choked on his own spit and started coughing again. (NO HE DIDN’T. Ok Gray is not going to cough anymore this entire chapter. You hear???)

Woah calm down, Parentheses.

(Don’t tell me what to do, Narrator!!!)

Anyways it was a huge fucking room.

“Will this suit you two? If it’s any problem I can get you two different rooms?”

“Ah-no! I-it’s fine!” Rin stuttered. “This will do just fine.”

“Yeah, thanks.” Gray managed to speak out.

Rin walked into the room, Gray in tow, and looked around. “I’ll leave you two to get some rest.” Shane said before mind-closing the door again.

Gray and Rin looked each other in the eye, both about to freak out. Gray opened his mouth to speak but Rin sharply shooshed him, holding her hand up, her head slightly tipped down. It was clear she was checking to make sure no one was around before they started freaking out. She then looked him in the eye, giving him the all clear. He opened his mouth again, arms splayed out. “A mansion.” He whispered. “We’re in a fucking mansion.”

She squealed and ran toward him. “For a week!!”

They didn’t hug but simply got close and exchanged excited glances. He looked from her to the bed. “I’ve always wanted to do this.” He ran forward and jumped on the memory foam bed, landing on his back.

Rin laughed and did the same thing, but landed on her belly, right next to him. She propped herself up on her elbows, and whipped the hair out of her face before looking down at him. He was looking up at her. “I think I might actually be in love with you.” He said jokingly.

Rin laughed and began to get up. “Come on. We gotta get ready for bed; we don’t know when they’re going to wake us up in the morning.” She stood in front of him, her hands on her hips.

Gray splayed his arms out. “But I just got comfy!” He complained.

Rin reached for his hand and pulled him up. “Get up!”

“I don’t love you anymore.”

“Oh no my heart is broken. Up you imbecile, up!” She finally pulled him to his feet. “Alright. We should unpack and get to bed. Do you want to use the bathroom first?”

“No.” he said “You can use it first. I’ll unpack your things.” Before she could protest he added. “I’ve seen girl’s undergarments before, relax.”

She nodded, a small blush on her face. “Ok.” She placed her suitcase on the bed, grabbing her pajamas and a brush. “Oh can you set up Haya’s bed too?” He gave her a confused look. “Here.” She returned to her suitcase, pulling out small pieces of cloth and a small pillow. “If you could just set it up real quick on the desk, she’ll adjust it to her liking.” She reached her hand up to her neck and out came Haya. Rin placed her on the bed. “Gray’s going to set up your bed for you. Ok?”

“Haya!” Rin grinned and turned back to walk into the bathroom.

Gray shrugged and pick up the small supplies, placing the pillow down first and then adding the blankets. As he finished, Haya slid under all of them, out of site. He guessed that was how she slept. He returned to the suitcase. He opened the closet and saw a railing for hanging clothes and shelves for other items. He placed all of her pants on one shelf, hung all of her shirts, placed her bras on the the shelf directly above the pants, and her underwear on a shelf above the bras. He shut the closet door and picked up the rest of her things from the suitcase and placed them on the vanity. There were things like a toothbrush, deodorant, makeup. Ya know. Girly things.

When he was done he placed the suitcase on the ground and began unpacking his satchel. He placed his underwear and socks in the top of the dresser, his shirts in middle drawer, and his pants at the bottom. It was a quick process unlike Rin. But he had just thrown his clothes in the dresser, while he had taken time to put Rin’s things away. He didn’t know how organized she was, but he decided it was better he find out without getting smacked for being so inconsiderate of her things. He began to take off his shirt when he heard the bathroom door open, and then slam shut again. “Sorry!” He heard her yell.

“It’s ok! It’s just my shirt.” She opened the door again. dressed in a black tank top, fuzzy red pajama bottoms, and freshly brushed hair. “I put your stuff in the closet." He said as he took his shirt off for real this time.

“Oh. Ok Thanks.” She made her way over to the closet and placed her dirty clothes in hamper that was in there. She went back to the vanity and placed her brush with the rest of her other things. “We should probably work out a system before one of us walks in on the other naked for real.”

“You mean a system like… knocking?” He said sarcastically.

She gave him a quick glare. “Don’t be a dick.”

He let out an airy laugh and began to take off his pants. He stopped. “Uh, Rin?”

She was uncovering the bed. “Yeah?” He looked around nervously. “What is it?”

“I uh… sleep in the nude…”

She blinked a couple times. “Not for the next week you don’t.”

“No! I mean-” He took a step towards her. “I mean I always got to bed with my underwear on but… sometime during the night I always take them off.”

“So…?”

“So you take the bed, I’ll take the couch.”

Rin gave him a sympathetic look. “But, Gray you really like this bed. I’ll take the couch.”

He shook his head. “No. It’s my problem, you shouldn’t have to be the one on the couch.”

She paused for a moment. “Hold on.” She went to the closet and pulled out her belt purse. (its like a fanny pack but not as dorky) Gray knew that she kept her daggers and various medical supplies inside it. She reached inside it and pulled out some very thin rope. She placed the purse back and walked over to Gray. “Take off your pants.”

He did as he was told and pulled them down, stepping out of them. She then kneeled down. His face went red. “What are you doing?”

“Relax.” She said unwinding the rope. “I use this stuff to take back criminals to the person who hired me. It’s magical rope. Only the person who ties it can untie it. I bought it at a magic shop about eight months ago and it has never failed me.”

“Why don’t you just use handcuffs?” He asked with tinted cheeks as she reached around his waist.

“Because people can unlock handcuffs, even magical ones. This is much more reliable.” She tied the knot and stood up. “Give it a tug.”

He reached down and tried to pull off his underwear. (Not something he ever thought he’d need to try at.) They didn’t budge and he was amazed. “That’s incredible. I’m gonna have to get me some of this stuff.”

“Works like a charm.” Rin said with a cocky grin. “Now, bed time. I’ll get the lights.” Gray went to the bed and got in, Rin following as soon as it was dark in the room. “Make sure you stay on your side.” She said passively.

“Sure thing.” He said with a wide yawn. He silently slid into a peaceful sleep.

…

…

…

**Gray was coughing. (fuCKING)**


	4. Ice Monkey

He saw that girl sitting by herself again. Gray was resting his face one his hand as he watched her. She was playing with a knife, flipping it in the air and catching it. He had learned from his experience with Erza to not judge her too quickly, and he certainly didn’t want to break her concentration while she did something so dangerous. She finally stopped and put the knife down. Gray stood to go over and talk to her but she stormed out the back door.

Her frowned and his eyebrow twitched. What was her problem? He fisted his hands and stiffly followed after her. As he opened up the back door, he couldn’t find her. He walked out further and stood under the tree. Where’d she go? He finally shrugged and lay down in the grass, the shade of the tree covering him. He had closed his eyes, enjoying the soft breeze; he opened them and saw a pair of bright yellow eyes staring down at him from the tree.

Gray woke to start, the image of those yellow eyes shocked him awake once more. He sat up slowly, the sun shining in his dark blue eyes, making him squint. He stretched his arms up in a big yawn and scratched at his morning habit through the sheets. As he did, he almost instantly realized his boxers were missing. His hands went down to keep the covers in place as he slowly turned his head to see if Rin was awake. But she wasn’t there. Confused, he looked around the gigantic room and saw her with a blanket, asleep on the couch. He turned to pick up his boxers off the floor. As he soundlessly pulled them on, he saw the rope on his nightstand. There was no way in hell he had managed to get the stuff off. Rin must have done it.

He walked over to the sleeping girl, squatting down near her face. She looked so peaceful when she slept, her face actually relaxed and not stressed out. Her pale cheeks slightly flushed, and her mouth open, letting out a quiet snore. Gray smiled, she was so beautiful it sent men into a trance just being in the same room as her. He could have stared at her forever, but no. That’s creepy. You creep.

Gently, he placed his hand on her shoulder and shook her. “Rin.” He whispered. “Rin, wake up.”

Her brows tensed and her mouth closed to a soft frown before her eyes opened. Being so close to those eyes was a challenge all of it’s own. “Gray?” Her voice croaked. She sat up, rubbing her eye as the blanket slipped down to her waist. “What’s up?”

“You’re on the couch.” He said, not breaking eye contact.

“Uh huh?” Her voice was beginning to shape into it’s normal irritated tone.

“Why did you take the rope off?”

She removed her hand from her face, looking at him confused. “You don’t remember?” He gave her a confused look. “You woke me up in the middle of the night while trying to take your underwear off.”

“So why didn’t you just let me be?”

“If you’d shut the hell up I’d be able to tell you that you were practically in tears, whining, trying to get them off.” His brows knitted together. “So I took the rope off, don’t worry I didn't see anything, and you almost immediately calmed down. So I slept on the couch.”

Gray put his hand on hers. “Rin.” She looked him right in the eyes. “It’s my problem, I feel awful for making you sleep on the couch. If that happens tonight just wake me up from it. Ok?” She slightly nodded. “Ok?”

She sighed in irritation. “Ok!” She pushed the blanket off, walking past him.

He stood up and watched her open the closet. “Do you want the first shower?”

She removed clothes from the closet and closed it, and put the clothes on the bed.  “Yeah, sure, why not?” She made for the bathroom, pausing at the door. “Oh and don’t be all nice to me just because I slept on the couch. It makes me feel like a fucking kid.” She shut the door and he grinned. Gray made up the bed, and grabbed his clothes from the dresser, placing them on top.

“...Haya…?” He turned towards the sleepy snake, peering out from under her mini blankets.

He walked over and brushed his fingers over her scaly head. “Morning, Haya.”  In which he received a small lick to his finger. He heard a knock come from the bathroom door. “Come in.”

Out walked Rin, her hair and body wrapped up in two different towels. “All yours.” She said, waving her hand as she walked past him.

“Thanks.” He walked into the bathroom, closing the door. As he looked around, he saw that there was an abundance of towels, two sinks, one bath, a shower, and a very nice toilet. He took a step and felt fabric beneath his feet. He looked down and saw Rin’s pajamas in the middle of the floor. He shrugged and kicked them to the side, grabbing a towel and placing it on the towel rack next to the shower.

He instantly dropped his boxers, turning on the shower and stepping in. He let his head hang, his forearm leaning against the wall as the shower bombarded him in a relaxing heat. The steam began to fog up the glass as he lifted his head and ran his hands through his hair. He looked around for the soap, finding a purple bar that looked new and just used. He grabbed it, and began rubbing it over his chest. It smelled like lavender and left his skin feeling very soft. He lifted his arm, rubbing it on his armpit, and repeating with the other one. He placed it back and let the suds wash off. As they did, he looked down, seriously considering it. But he was a groaner, and Rin was not 15 feet away from him. He also wasn’t sure when the Ve Belles would call them down for breakfast so he decided against it.

He shut off the water, opening the glass door and grabbing the towel as he stepped over his boxers. He half-assed dried himself before wrapping around his waist. He went over to the door and knocked.

“Ah- hold on!” He heard Rin shuffling around. “Come in!” He opened the door and saw Rin pulling her shirt down the final inch. She was wearing a red t-shirt and light blue jeans. He noticed her hair was completely brushed out, and the shoulders of her top were freshly wet.

He took another look at her before asking, “Do you brush your hair without a shirt on?”

A slight blush tinged her cheeks as she frowned. “Is there a problem with that?”

He shrugged and walked into the room. “No. Just strange is all.” He walked pass her to the dresser, picking up his shirt and staring at her.

“What?” She asked. He nodded his head toward the bathroom. “Oh, you probably want me to leave while you get dressed.”

He nodded with a sarcastic look and tone. “Yeah?”

She nodded, picking up her make up, her brush, and toothbrush before she exited to the bathroom. He shook his head and dropped the towel. He placed his shirt on, tugging it straight before slipping on his boxers and pants. He grabbed his braclet, his necklace, and his wallet and chain off the vanity, putting them on. He check his face and hair in the mirror. He needed a quick brush through his hair and a small shave. He shrugged and picked up his comb, razor, and toothbrush, making his way to the bathroom, knocking on the door. The door opened before him, Rin standing there with dry, wild hair. Before he could ask she explained. “There’s a soundless hairdryer in here.” Turning away from him back to the mirror.

“Ah.” He said with a interested noise, occupying the sink next to the Familiar Wizard.

He placed his items down, picking his comb up right after. He quickly ran the comb through his wet hair, and left it as is. He rubbed his hand on his face to see how stubbily he was. He hadn’t shaved yesterday so his facial hair was proudly growing. He finally made the difficult decision to shave.

A few minutes later they heard a knock on their bedroom door. “Come in!” Rin called out. The door opened to reveal Renae.

“Well good morning you two!” She was wearing a pale yellow dress, her hair pulled back into a bun. “Breakfast is ready and afterwards we’ll be leaving.” She announced and exited, closing the door.

Gray looked over at Rin. “I guess thats code for “get-the-fuck-out-here”.”

Rin smirked, raising an eyebrow. “Yeah, I guess.” She started walking towards the door, picking up Haya on her way. “Come on.”

Gray silently followed her. They walked down a fairly long hallway down some stairs and entered the sitting room. There they saw Shane holding a young boy with light brown hair and blue eyes. He saw the young wizards and held his father tighter. Shane turned, his eyes following his son’s, and smiled. “Gray! Rin! How’d you two sleep?” He took a step towards them. He wore a black suit with a dark blue tie.

“Really well.” Rin answered. “I take it this is Jonathan?”

Said boy hid in his father's shoulder. “Come now, son, say hello.”

The small boy revealed an eye. “...Hello…” He quickly returned to his father.

“Jonathan, be polite. These are your babysitters.”

“I don’ wan’ any baby sitters.” His voice was muffled.

Gray took a step towards the father and son. “ Jonathan. Jonny. Can I call him Jonny?” He asked Shane who nodded. “Jonny, what’s your favorite animal?”

His turned his head to look at him. “A monkey…”

Gray raised his hands. “Watch closely ok?” Jonny nodded and and revealed his entire face. “Ice Make…” Suddenly a small monkey appeared in Gray’s hands, looking almost real. Jonny’s head fully lifted off of his father’s shoulder, a small smile on his face. “Do you like it?” Gray asked. Jonny slowly nodded his head. “Do you want it?” His smile grew bigger as his head shook a little faster. “Be careful, it breaks easy.” His hand reached out to grasp the small ice monkey.

He held it close to himself. “S’cold…”

Rin quietly appeared at Gray’s side. “It’s ice.” She noted.

He looked up at her with wide eyes. “S’ice?!?”

She giggled. “Pretty cool huh?”

Jonny nodded and then said. “You sure are pretty.” He had a small blush on his face as he hugged his monkey.

She rested her hands on her hips and cocked her head to the side. “Why thank you! That’s a very nice thing to say.”

Jonny turned back to Gray. “Do you think she’s pretty?”

The question had caught the Ice Mage off guard. He looked from Jonny to Shane to Rin and back again. After a few seconds He opened his mouth to speak. “Y-yeah. I think she’s very pretty.”  He cleared his throat, not making eye contact with her.

“Do you love her?”

He wasn’t the only one surprised by the question. Rin made a noise and took a small step back. Within the beat Shane put his son down. “Why don’t you go show Mama your monkey? Hmm?” Jonny nodded and ran into the kitchen. “I am sorry.  Unfortunately once he gets an idea in his head it’s almost impossible to change his mind. It turns out you’ll be acting as a couple anyways.” He held a very sincere gaze before he turned to walk into the kitchen. “Come in when you’re ready.”

As he exited Rin turned towards Gray and let out a sigh. “Do I have to hold your hand again?” He dropped his head to the side, giving her a dead stare. She rolled her eyes and groaned, holding her hand out for his. As he took it she mumbled. “Let’s just get this week over with.”

“No kidding.” He added.

She led them into the kitchen. When they entered they saw Shane speaking in a hushed voice to Renae, as Jonny ate his breakfast and stared lovingly at his monkey. The parents heard the two enter and turned to face them, Renae giving them a sympathetic look.

“So.” Shane said clapping his hands. “Why don’t we all sit down and have a bite to eat before we leave?” He nodded and pulled a seat out for Renae. She sat down, giving him a loving look. Gray and Rin exchanged a look before Rin dropped his hand and sat down at the table. Gray quickly scratched his temple and followed her lead.

As they ate Gray and Rin learned that Jonny got up at 7:00 a.m. every morning and got dressed; his clothes already being picked out the week before. He then ate breakfast at 7:30. After that the only strict rules were his studies from 10:00 to 11:00, lunch at 1:00 p.m., piano lessons at 3:00, dinner at 5:30, bath at 6:30 and bedtime at 7:00. After understanding the schedule, the parents gave their beloved son hugs and kisses every second until they closed the front door.


	5. Venom Surge

_Gray looked up at the pair of eyes. “What are you doing?” She didn’t answer, just climbed down and stared at the relaxed boy. He sat up and returned her stare._

_How long did he stare into those eyes? They were so enticing. They looked like dancing yellow orbs, flickering back and forth intensely. They looked as if they were hiding something._

_Gray finally blinked and patted the spot of grass next to him. “You gonna stand there all day?” She folded her arms and frowned some more. He shrugged and layed back down, closing his eyes, his arms behind his head. After a moment or two he heard shuffling followed by a small thump of someone laying down beside him. He let out a small grin._

“Gray!”

Gray jolted up, covered in sweat, his eyes wide like a hawk’s. He looked around wildly. It was dark, the only thing that caught his attention were worried yellow eyes. “R-Rin?” He felt a hand on his shaking shoulder. “I-?” He wasn’t fully with reality yet. It had been about three days since he had his first incident.

“Gray, calm down, you’re crying, it’s ok.” He was crying? He put his hand to his face and sure enough his face was leaking tears.

He started wiping them away. “Fuck…” Once he got a grip on himself he asked. “What happened?”

Rin’s hair was disheveled. “I don’t know. You woke up crying, again, trying to take your underwear off. But this time… you were saying a name?”

Gray looked up from his hands. “A name?”

“Well…” Rin went criss-cross. “Not a name exactly… Like… Master? No… Teacher? Well something like that.”

Gray had a pretty good idea of what happened. “Oh…” He gulped. How was he gonna explain this to Rin? “Well...When I was younger-”

“Gray.” He felt a hand on his forearm. “I can feel you trembling. You don’t have to tell me.” He instantly relaxed. “Believe me. I know how difficult it is to talk about the past…”

He looked up into her eyes. He saw something that he’d never seen before in them.

Sorrow.

He grinned down at her. “Let’s get some sleep.” The sorrow from her eyes vanished as she closed her eyes, letting out a toothy smile.

Her eyes suddenly snapped open again, the smile gone from her face as she focused on something. “Rin?” Gray asked concerned. “What is it?”

She made eye contact with him. “There’s someone in the house.” They both flung the sheets off and bolted out of the room, Haya slithering along and climbing up Rin as they ran. “You go check on Jonny, I’ll go make our guest at home.”

Gray nodded and broke off into a different direction in the house. He came to Jonny’s room and busted in. He saw the small boy jolt up, rubbing his eye. Gray walked over and sat on his bed, checking to see if it was really him. When he was assured it was him he let out a small sigh of relief, ignoring the boy’s question of what was happening. He heard a loud, heavy crash from somewhere in the house. “Come on, buddy, we’re going out.” He picked the small boy up and grabbed his coat, rushing to put it on him before he picked him up and ran out of the room.

They had almost made it to the front door until they heard a yell. “Gray watch out!!” He turned around just in time to dodge a barrage of feathers before freezing them to the ground. He held Jonny close to him as the intruder was tackled to the ground by, the now gigantic, Haya. Rin ran up to the boys. “You ok?” She asked.

“Yeah, and yourself?” He asked.

“Just a little bruised from a surprise attack.”

“They ambushed you? How?”

“I didn’t feel ‘em. Their foot steps are as light as feathers too.” (audience groans in disgust at the author) “We should attack him together.” She said, ignoring her horrible pun.

“What do we do with Jon?” Gray asked.

“Haya!” Rin called out. The snake slithered up, battered a little. Rin took Jonny out of Gray’s arms and put him on Haya’s back. “Hold on tight and don’t let go ok?” He simply nodded before Haya took off out of the house. Before Gray could protest his worries Rin reassured him. “Familiar telepathy remember?”

He nodded before taking a battle stance, facing their opponent. “Will you be ok without Haya?”

“I learned poison magic before Haya was my familiar, I’ll be just fine.” Taking her stance as well, hands reaching around to grab her daggers.

Their eyes narrowed seeing the other wizard rush towards them.

“Ice make…”

“Venom surge…”

“HAMMER!” a large hammer appeared in Gray’s hands as he slammed it on the ground, only missing his adversary due to a feather-like shield, destroying the feathers in the process.

“Slice!” Rin waved the daggers through the air twice as two light purple slashes raced forward and cut the wizard.

“Ice make sword!” Gray dashed forward and swung the blade across them, causing them to fall to the floor.

Rin ran forward extremely fast and tackled them. “Familiar magic-” Her teeth grew to fangs, her pupils narrowed, and her tongue narrowed out. “-conssstrict!” She had one arm around their neck, the other was holding their arms together behind their back. Her strength had increased so much that they couldn’t even fidget. She had brought them to their knees as Gray walked up and squatted.

“What guild are you from?” He asked, his voice deep.

“Ain’t none of your business.” Gray gave Rin a quick glance.

“Venom surge teeth.” She opened her mouth, poised to strike.

“Uh- none! I don’t have a guild.” They said nervously.

“What’s your name?” Gray asked. They didn’t answer. Rin’s fangs dripped a small amount of poison onto their neck.

“AAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!.... Outcast Ramsey….”

Gray’s tone got more aggressive. “And why are you here?!”

“To take the brat as ransom….”

“Are there more of you?”

“No.”

Gray nodded to Rin who bit down hard on their neck. The screams were loud and violent. Crazy… but efficient. Gray commented to himself.

“NO I SWEAR IT'S JUST ME AHHH I SWEAR PLEASE THERE’S NO ONE ELSE PLEEEAASSEEE!!!!!!”

“Ok.” Rin released them and stood, letting them drop to the floor in a writhing mess. “Are they… gonna be ok?” Gray asked legitimately worried.

Rin gave him a deadpan expression as her facial features returned to normal. “They’ll be fine, just paralyzed for about 12 hours.”

“Now I get why you have the nickname Ferocious Python.” Gray shuddered.

Rin rolled her eyes. “Whatever, just take this trash down to the nearest jail, I’m certain there’s some kind of reward for them; it’s not the first time I’ve heard that name.” Gray turned to pick them up and swung them over his shoulder. “I’ll go get Haya and Jonny and put him back to sleep.” She added, following him to the door. “You want to sleep in when you get back?”

He nodded yes. “You sure they’ll be paralyzed for twelve hours?” He asked as they exited the house.

“For sure, if not longer; my teeth got kind of stuck so they stayed in longer than they should have.”

**Gray grinned down at her before running off. “Seriously, remind me not to piss you off.”**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, all, I did a little experiment. I didn't give Outcast Ramsey a clear description or gender, so I'm curious to see what they looked like to you. I just gave you a name and a power. How did you picture them? Were they female or male? Skin color? Hair color? Comment what you thought they looked like. This is important because I might bring them back so I will need a description :)


	6. Insert Quirky Title Here

By the time Gray had gotten back the sun was beginning to rise and he was utterly (moo) exhausted. He got to sleep for maybe 3 hours before Jonny burst into the room jumping on the bed and screaming. Due to that, Gray went to bed, earlier that night, on the couch so Rin didn’t have to. The rest of the week seemed to fly by and before they knew it Renae and Shane had returned to their very much loved, handful of a son. “My darling!” Renae exclaimed, picking him up as she embraced him. “How was your week?”

“Tons ‘o fun, Mama! Gray is so coooool!!!!! And Rin’s pet snake is super nice!” He excitedly told her about the break in. The ice wizard noticed how she seemed slightly worried but kept a smile on her face.

“That’s wonderful, dear. Why don’t you go tell Papa, huh?” He nodded as she placed him down to run to his father. “Thank you so much. Shane and I were thinking… If you two would like to, that is… How would you two feel about becoming our perminant babysitters?”

Gray looked to Rin, who was looking at him, and smiled; she smiled back in silent agreement. “We’d love to.” Gray answered. “He’s a sweet kid.”

“And we had a lot of fun watching after him.” Rin added. “I can tell he’s going to become a very talented wizard like his mother and father.” Holding Haya with one hand and petting her with the other.

Renae squealed. “Oh fantastic!”(Mr. fox) She reached into her purse, pulling out the reward. She quickly counted it before handing it to Gray. “There you go. 2,000 jewel; as promised.” She closed her purse. “Shane has a business meeting in about 10 minutes so he can’t come say goodbye.”

“Well give him our best will you?” Rin asked.

“Oh absolutely!” Renae nodded as she led them to the front door. “You take care now! We’ll alert your master the next time we have a job for you.”

Gray waved as they walked out. “Thanks again.” She waved and closed the door. It was about sunset as they set off to the train station. They walked in silence for about 15 minutes before he said “So I guess we’re baby sitting partners now or something…”

“Yeah I guess so.” Her cheery tone gone now that they were away from clients.

He sighed as he realized that it had to lay on his shoulders to continue any sort of conversation. “You’re a good fighter.”

“Thanks, so are you.”

He rolled his eyes at the dead compliment. “By the way, what the hell was with those freakin’ fangs?” She shot him a glare, probably thinking he insulted her. “Don’t take it the wrong way, I’m just curious about the poison dripping from them.”

She glared at him a moment longer with her yellow eyes before snapping her head forward. “I can immet poison onto any object I wish, depending on the size. That’s how my daggers contain poison, I use Venom Surge.”

“And… Venom Surge is the poison magic you use?”

“That’s right.”

“Then you use two types of magic?” He was seriously interested. “Venom Surge is poison magic that you learned before you met Haya, and the Familiar Magic is the magic you learned after you met her?” She nodded. “Wow… Isn’t that hard? Learning two different types of magic?”

She shrugged. “Well it really all depends on the luck of the draw, I suppose. I was lucky to get a snake familiar after learning poison magic so it was pretty easy to combine the two. But had I learned, for example, ice magic-” Her hand motioned to him. “ -then it wouldn’t have been as easy to combine them seeing as snakes are cold blooded and don’t do well in lower tempertures.”

“I guess that’s why we don’t see much of her around winter time, huh?”

“Or any time really. Haya stays in the warmth of my hair because her original home was in an extremely warm rain forest that never saw any snow.”

“Then how do you handle missions in the mountains or something?”

“I have a colapsible, heated box for her that I carry around.” She looked at him. “I guess you never really have to worry about being too warm or too cold?”

There we go, now she was making an effort! “Not exactly…” his hand reached up to scratch the back of his head. “Colder climates are no problem, I grew up where there was always snow. But the hotter it gets, the more difficult it gets for me to stay focused.”

“So how hot is too hot for you?” She also seemed interested.

“Uhhhh……” He placed a hand to his chin, closing his eyes as he thought about it. “Um… 70- no… 85 degrees farenhiet.”

“My God, you’re the biggest baby in the world!” Now it was his turn to glare at her. “The average person’s body heat is 97 degrees farenheit!”

He barely blushed. “I know that! What about you? How cold is too cold?” Her face blushed as she looked away and mumbled a number. “What?”

“40 degrees ok?!” He busted out laughing. “It’s not my fault! It’s the snake in me!” He continued to laugh. She crossed her arms. “It’s not funny.”

He managed to stop . “Ah… ahah… You’re right… ha…” The conversation was dropped as they arrived at the station. Gray purchased their tickets and they got on the train. Before they knew it, it was dark outside and they were half way home. He looked across to where she sat. She was resting her hand on her fist, looking out into the darkness, as her other gently stroked the sleeping Haya that lay in her lap. He cleared his throat. “You really are a good fighter…” Getting her attention. “And I was thinking… I mean since we are technically going to be baby sitting partners…”

“You want to be real partners?” She finished his sentence, lifting her head off her fist slightly, an eyebrow cocked and the trace of a smirk on her face.

He sat up straight. “Yeah. What do you think?”

She closed her eyes, resting her head back on her hand. “Hmm…” She opened her eyes. “Ok.”

He was slightly surprised at how subtly she agreed. “Really?”

She fully removed her head (oh gOD.) from her hand(oh), resting it on the armrest. “Yeah, I mean, why not? With two of us, we can take on more difficult jobs with higher rewards. Jobs won’t be as lonely either. Not to mention people have more faith in the task being completed with more than one wizard.” Haya made a small noise as Rin shifted some. “And I think we could learn a lot from each other.” She reached her hand out, “Partners?” He grinned, taking her hand with a clap.

“Partners.”


	7. And So The Plot Thickens

Two months had passed since Gray and Rin became partners. The news had spread throughout the guild and throughout the town as well. No one was sure how well they would work together. An ice make wizard and a poison familiar wizard? It was quite the random match. However they seemed to be working very well together. Of course there was the rumor that they were secretly dating, and the fact that the master had drunkenly exclaimed it to the entire guild didn’t help. After a month, that obstacle was overcome but there was still the small group of people who “shipped” them. Grin being the name the group had chosen. (I hate myself)

After a month and a half, the reporter Jason asked them on their thoughts about the shippers. The wizards just shrugged and said they thought it a small nuisance. Jason then began asking them about their cool cool cool relationship. How close were they really? Did they know things about the other that no one else knew? To which Gray responded, “If we knew things about each other that no one else knew we sure as hell wouldn’t tell a reporter.” But the simple question put a thought in both of their heads. They really didn’t know that much about each other.

Now at present day, Gray came upon Rin, sitting at the bar, strangely quiet. He tapped her shoulder as he sat down. “What's wrong with _you_?”

She scoffed. “Wow, right to the point, huh?”

He sat up straight and then turned his head away. “Well I’m only trying to be nice, sorry for worrying about my partner.”

Her head dropped lower and she let out an irritated sigh. “Whatever, I didn’t even ask for your help.” She walked out through the back.

Gray watched her leave before asking out loud. “What’s her problem?”

“It may have something to do with this?” Suddenly Lisanna was next to him, picking up a piece of paper that had been left in Rin’s spot.

“Oh hey.” He said passively, taking the paper from her. “What’s this?”

She was standing over his shoulder as he stared at it. “I don’t know, but she’s been sitting here for the past hour just looking at it.” Then she asked. “Maybe you should read it.”

“But it’s not mine. That’s a total invasion of her privacy.”

Lisanna shrugged. “You can do what you want, but if it’s bothering her so much, you might be the only one to talk to her about it.” She went to talk to Natsu.

Gray stared at the folded piece of paper and decided he’d just sneak a peek. He placed it on the table and began to unfold it. Once he noticed it was a letter he slammed his hand over the context of the note. He cast his eyes down to the bottom of the page, noticing a name.

_“Missing you,_

_“Kanis and the Quatro Cerberus Guild”_

He blinked at the signature. Quatro Cerberus? She’d told him that Fairy Tail was the only guild she’d ever been in, what connection did she have to Quatro Cerberus? He looked away as he folded it back up. Gray stood and followed Rin outside. He found her sitting down on the beach, the water just barely touching her toes as she held her knees close to her chest.

He knew she knew he was there, he saw her cast a quick glance at him before returning her gaze to the sea. “So,” He started. “Is Kanis your boyfriend or something?”

She let out small ‘che’. “Kanis? No way. He’s just- Wait.” Suddenly her head snapped up, her pupils narrowing. “How the _fuck_ do you know that name?” He watched her eyes make contact with the letter in his hand. She shot him a glare and, quickly, began to stand up, storming towards him.

He put his arms out to defend himself. “W-wait! Rin, I didn’t read it, I swear, I just looked at the signature-”

“It doesn’t matter how much, or what you read! It’s mine and you totally violated my privacy!” She snatched the letter from his hand before pushing him back a couple steps.

 _She’s not as strong as she usually is_. He noted. Usually a push from her was enough to knock him to the ground. As she began to walk away, he jogged forward and took the letter from her hand.

“Hey!!” She turned on him, livid. She tried to snatch it once more but he held it in the air, knowing she couldn’t reach it. “Are you kidding me!?!” She screeched. “Give it back!!”

“Tell me what’s on this letter.” Gray demanded.

“Eat shit!” She began jumping for it, to no avail.

“Tell me.” She began punching at his center, just reassuring his thought that she was weaker than usual. “Rin.” His voice was lower, and a little frightening. “Who is Kanis? How do you know the Quatro Cerberus Guild? I thought you said that Fairy Tail was the first guild you joined. So tell me what’s in the fucking letter!!”

“I DON’T KNOW!!!” She stopped hitting him. Her yellow eyes leaking tears as she stared at his shirtless chest. “I’ve been too afraid to read it…” She murmured.

Gray let out a deep breath, pulling her into his chest for a hug. She hesitantly wrapped her arms around his torso, letting him hug her. “Why don’t we read it together?” He asked. He felt her tense up. “So then if you get scared, I’ll be right here.” She nodded her head stiffly. He pulled her away, his hands still holding onto her arms. He looked at her crying eyes. He took his thumb and wiped them away. “Tears don’t suit you. I’m the only one who's supposed to cry, remember?” He joked lightly about his needing to strip at night.

She let out a short, airy laugh. “Well, if I tell you about this letter and Quatro Cerberus, you have to tell me about that. Deal?”

  
Without even hesitating, he said. “Deal.” Which surprised him. He never talked about his past with anyone. Maybe they were getting closer… They sat down in the sand, and Gray held the letter out to her. “Do you want to read it?” He asked.

Her hand reached out before retracting it quickly, shaking her head. “No. You do it.”

As he opened it, she clung onto his arm. He took a deep breath.

_“Dear, Rin._

_“First off, I’m sorry. I know you don’t like getting letters. And it took all my might just to get Master Goldmine to send this to you. But I haven’t sent you one in over 3 years and i just thought you would like to know what’s going on in the guild._

_“Bacchus, is of course, still drinking. But he recently got into it with Erza Scarlet. Yeah he came back totally battered as hell. Which, no surprise there. She’s amazing. Not as amazing as you of course.”_

Gray turned his head to Rin. “Does this guy always write down what he’s thinking?”

“Yup.” She said. Adding a pop to the ‘p’. Gray shrugged and looked back at the paper.

_“Rocker, Warcry, Jager, Nobarly, and Semmes just pulled off a huge job that brought back 600,000 jewel! The jerks didn’t even share it with the rest of the guild. I mean, not until master made them cough up 100,000 to pay for all of the destruction they caused. We aren't as bad as Fairy Tail but hey, life’s a party._

_“Guy made the top ten ‘Most Attractive Wizarding Men’ again this year, and he’s even in the running for ‘The Wizard I’d Like To Be My Boyfriend’ ranking for next year. I’m not personally excited about it, but whatever get’s the guild’s name out there is good enough for me._

_“As for me… Well… I’m still looking for evidence that Tora is still out there. I mean, he’s not one to just up and leave. And if he did die, we would’ve found his remains by now. I swear to you. I’m gonna find him. I promise. You can count on me. And maybe… When I find him… You can come back. And it’ll be just like it was before. And then, you can tell us where you’ve been for all these years…_

_“Missing you,_

_“Kanis and the Quatro Cerberus Guild”_

Gray let the piece of paper drop into his lap. “Well, whether you’re dating this Kanis character or not, he sure wants to date you.” He turned to look at her, and found her bangs covering her face. “Hey, you alright?”

“He’s such a fucking idiot…” She began shaking her head. “If he was alive he would’ve come back after nine years…”

Gray suddenly recalled the man Kanis had written about. “Who is Tora?” He asked.

Her head rose and he met those beautiful eyes. “Tora King. My dead brother.”

 


	8. Put A Stamp On It

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We learn why Rin is kind of a bitch, and the one person she and Gray have a connection to. 
> 
> This chapter was a little difficult for me to write and I'm not sure why... Anyways, sorry for the wait.
> 
> Enjoy my shit.

“Your brother is dead?”

“Yeah.”

“That’s gotta suck.”

“Yeah it really does.”

“Do you wanna talk about it?”

“Ehhhh…”

“Y’don’t have to.”

“I know.” A few moments passed before Rin started to speak, her electric eyes never leaving the ocean. “Have you ever heard of the King Guild before?”

“Yeah, they were a family guild of familiar wizards that disbanded weren’t they?” It suddenly clicked in his mind. “You’re one of those Kings?!”

“Well yes… And no… My father was the one that disbanded them.” She took a deep breath. “The guild master for the King guild was based off of the eldest son of the current master; and that so happened to be my father. Another rule was that the eldest son had to have a wolf as their familiar, seeing as it was the guild’s emblem. You probably know that the King guild wasn’t the most popular and was fairly shady; specializing in assassination requests.”

Gray scratched the back of his head nervously. “Yeah…”

“My grandfather had been targeted by many and was assassinated himself, leaving my father in charge. Almost immediately, my father disbanded the guild, knowing that they would all be targeted soon, and that they would have a better chance to survive separated. Many retaliated and blamed him for hiring the man to kill his father. However, since they were still faithful to the guild, they obeyed but not without leaving my father with a crippling injury.

“He traveled around with his familiar, Aatu,  for a couple of years before he got very sick and collapsed. His familiar carried him to the nearest housing area and that just so happened to be Quatro Cerberus. That’s where he met my mother. She was a familiar wizard too, a cat named Navi. She was the bartender for their guild and didn’t know any offensive magic. They fell in love. And just before he proposed to her he told her, and the guild, the truth about him. He was worried they would kick him out, but they didn’t. Within three years they were married and were raising my brother. They had me when Tora was ten, and by then he was a part of the guild but he didn’t have a familiar yet. Although we weren’t part of the family anymore, my father still kept to the King traditions, which included the eldest son gaining a wolf as his familiar. But, one day, Tora came back from a mission with a tiger.

“He had been gone for over 3 months and refused to tell why in his letters. The tiger’s name was Rajah and he was my brother’s familiar. Least to say my father livid. He and Tora got into a big fight and then… My father disowned my brother. When Tora left… he yelled something at my father… he said, ‘I’ll make sure everyone knows that the direct bloodline is still alive, I won’t be a coward like you.’.” She looked down at her hands. “I was three and I remember it as clear as yesterday…”

Gray wrapped his arm gently around her. “Rin…”

She let out a shuddering breath. “In retrospect, my life would be completely different had that moment gone any other way but… it’s…”

“But it’s still hard not to think about it.” The ice wizard stared into the sand next to her. “Would your life be better? Or worse? What kind person would you be if that one fucking event hadn’t happened…” He felt a hand on his arm and looked up to a concerned Rin. He shook his head. “Sorry, this is about you. Continue.”

She tapped his arm lightly. “We’re going to talk about your past too, don’t forget.” They smiled gently at each other before she spoke again. “He was gone for a year, and then, something more drastic happened… An assassin… well- my parents, well…” She closed her eyes. “Someone found out about my father’s location and killed him and my mother.”Gray tightened his hold on her. “I was upstairs hiding under the bed, where I fell asleep, listening to my parents fight. The assassins never found me, so when I woke up in the morning and went downstairs… My mom… my ….daddy…” Her face was paler as she held a hand up to her mouth, holding in a gag. “God- there was so much blood. Their familiars too they were-” She nearly vomited and Gray rubbed her back. “Ugh- even now I can’t think about it. It’s why really graphic things don’t gross me out my-”

“What happened after that? What did you do?” Gray knew what it was like to see your parents brutally murdered. It was the reason he didn’t react to things much either. If he thought of his village, he too felt sick. It’d be best he changed the subject.

“I… I walked down to the guild…” His plan worked. “I was covered in blood when I opened the door. I was crying. I just kept crying. Crying for my brother, wailing how I wanted him back. So the guild master sent for Tora to come back, and he did, after three days. When he came back, he all but burst into the guild. He held me tightly and promised me he would never leave me again. That he and Rajah would stay with me forever.” Rin let out an amused chuckle. “He was 14 then… I’m 14 now… Hard to imagine it’s already been ten years....” Her expression hardened. “And that’s not even all of it either…”

“Yeah, what happened to him?”

“Tora became very overprotective of me. He almost always refused to let me out of the house- the house our parents were murdered in but he never saw it so he wasn’t haunted like I was- and when I was allowed outside, I was constantly watched over by none other than Kanis; he’s three years older than me. When Tora went on missions I was locked inside the house with enough provisions for months and wasn’t allowed to see anybody. He even forbade me from learning magic in any shape or form.”

“What?! Why?”

“He was certain it was the reason we had gone through so much misfortune, and he was probably right, but it didn’t stop me from sneaking into my parents room and reading their books. I  usually got caught and then we’d fight and then I would refuse to even look at him.”

“Rin, I’m so sorry…”

“It wasn’t all bad...He would tell me about his year with Fairy Tail and all the friends he made.”

Gray blinked a couple times. “Wait… Your brother was a member of Fairy Tail?”

“For a year, yeah, it was all he ever talked about. He was really happy when he was here. I felt bad he had to leave it for me but… he refused to move back for some reason…” She let out a sigh. “When I was six, he was one of the strongest members of Quatro Cerberus and took an S Class mission. He didn’t come back. The guild sent out several search parties but never found him. So when I was seven I packed up all my shit, left a note for the Guild on the counter, and I haven’t been back since. I learned venom magic, and when I was eight I met Haya, and I was taken here forcefully when I was nine.”

“Yeah, were’nt you impersonating a guild member?” Gray mused.

Rin rolled her eyes. “No, just pretending to be apart of it. I never picked a specific person. But word still made it to the guild and they caught me.”

“Well thank God they did.” Gray grinned down at his partner.

She gently shoved him. “Alright, now what’s your story?” He took a deep breath, yet didn’t speak. Rin tugged on him gently. “You promised.”

“I know- I know just-... Just give me a minute here…” He closed his eyes. “I don’t know if it’ll be as detailed as yours… I blocked most of it out.”

“That’s fine. Just speak.”

He let out an irritated groan. “Impatient much?”

“I just gave you my whole life story because you made me, now spill the fucking beans!” He turned his head to glare at her but was caught by her eyes once more and just began talking before he had time to shut his mouth.

“My parents were killed by a demon of the name of Deliora, as was the rest of my village, when I was young. I was found by my teacher, the one I mumble about, and her student. After nursing me back to health, and helping me bury all my friends and family, she took me on as her student and taught me Ice magic. It’s actually her fault I have this stupid stripping habit, we used to train in the snow nearly naked.”

“Fascinating.” Rin spoke mildly as she swatted Gray’s hands away from unbuttoning his shirt without him realizing it.

“After a little while, I thought I had learned enough to take on Deliora again so I bailed on them to go find it. And then I got my ass kicked, and the next thing I knew, I was waking up in rubble watching my teacher throw her life away for me. I don’t even know why she showed up, when I left she said I wasn’t her student anymore, so why did she come?”

Gray felt a small hand on his shoulder. “She loved you, Gray. She probably still does.” He snorted. “And even though you just gave me a summary, it helps.”

“Helps who?” He spoke miserably.

“Well for one, it helps me understand why you’re such a downer all the time.” She tried to tease.

“Because you are just some bucket of rainbows right?” Sarcasm dripped from his tone.

“For two,” Rin spoke harshly, ignoring the comment. “It helps you to finally tell someone, even if it was short and shitty.”

“Well whaddya want me to say?! Sorry I’m not as in touch with my soft side?”

Rin scoffed at him and said. “Well it would probably help even more if you gave me some names?”

“Ugh- will you  hop off my dick about it if I do?”

“Probably not, but there’s a chance.”

He glared at her. “You’re too honest.” She raised an eyebrow in response. “Fucking-! Alright! My teacher’s name was Ul!”

“And the other student? What about him?”

He snorted. “Who cares about Lyon?”

He saw confusion hit her face, scrunching up. “Lyon?”

“Yeah he’s got a fucking weird name.”

“Lyon… Vastia?”

It took him a couple moments before Gray’s eyes widened and met with Rin’s. Were they talking about the same-? “White hair?”

“Boney features?”

“Squinty eyes?”

“Kind of a prick?”

Gray snorted with laughter. “Yeah, that’s him! How do you know Lyon?”

Rin looked away slowly. “Uhh…”

“What?”

“Remember last year when I was gone for a couple months?”

He nodded. “Your letters said you were on a vacation?”

“Yeah, I was! A vacation of… sorts…” Gray was lost. “We dated for two months.” OOOOHHHHHH.

“Gross.”

“It’s not that gross, y'know.”

“Well did you guys bang?”

“Yeah.”

“Gross.”

“He was actually my first.”

“Wow that’s pretty disgusting, thanks for putting that image in my head.”

“You were the one who asked, shit for brains.”

“I didn’t want to know he was your first, I mean that implies blood and delicacy and shit.”

“Well who was your first?”

“I’m sorry, what?”

“Who sealed the deal with your stamp first?”

“Are you fucking serio-wait my _what???_ ”

“I supposedly tainted your mind, so taint mine. Laws of equivalent exchange or some hoity toity shit like that.”

“ _My stamp???_ ”

“Like a mushroom stamp, Gray. Jesus, get with the program. Now-” Was this really happening right now? “Was it Erza?”

“I- No!” How had they gone from tragic backstories to this bullshit??

“Mira?”

“ _God_ , No!!!”

“Lisanna?”

“Why are we talking about this?” Rin just glared at him until he sighed. "No.”

“Levy?”

“What in the- No!”

“Cana?” Fuck. Rin took his silence as a confirmation. She gasped as her smile got wider and her eyes lit up. If it were under different circumstances, he would’ve killed to see her smile like that but sadly, they were talking about his sex life. “Cana!?”

“Yes alright! Cana! We were 13, curious, and lasted about 2 minutes, it was the worst sexual encounter of my life. We never did it again, but I doubt it’d be a problem anymore, but we’re just friends now.”

“Gross.” He continued to glare at her. “I didn’t say give the whole backstory.” Gray groaned and placed his head in his hands. He felt a hand pat his back. “It was Lyon’s first too, he lasted about two minutes also, but it was more romantic because we weren't just doing it as an experiment.” There was a calm silence for a while. Gray peeked an eye out to look at her. She was staring out at the sea with a type of happiness, and sadness.

“What happened?” the ice wizard asked lowly.

“I had to come home, and he had to finish his research.”

“Research?”

“I forget what for, but we were each taking a break from work when we met.” She bit her lip. “I loved him.”

Gray suddenly felt like a stranger. Like he didn’t belong. He felt so out of place the moment she said that. He’d never seen the emotions he saw on her until today and he felt rotten because of it. He’d known her for five years and yet he barely knew her at all.

Rin chuckled again. “I mean, as much as a 13 year old can love her first 15 year old boyfriend.” She gave one last pat to Gray’s back and retracted her hand. “It was never meant to last.” Gray sat up and stared at her some more, enticed just by her very presence. The sun was beginning to go down and it turned the sky a pale yellow, making Rin’s skin glow just slightly. He furrowed his eyebrows as he looked at her. She looked over at him again, her eyes, still, magnificently bright. Even at the most beautiful time of the day, she managed to top it all. “What?” She asked, her attitude returning to normal.

“I think you’re the closest friend I’ve ever had…” He let it slip out like an idiot. Now he felt like standing up and walking into the ocean, and never coming out.

She simply rolled her eyes and nudged his shoulder with her’s. “Back ‘atcha." She smiled gently at him before standing up and kicking sand on him. “Come on, loser, you’re buying me some dinner.”

“What!? Why?” He stood, brushing sand off.

“Because you half-assed your story you fuckin’ cheater.”

She reached down and grabbed his hand, tugging him back inside.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A mushroom stamp is when a person takes their penis and smacks it on their sexual partner, leaving a penis head mark that looks a lot like a mushroom.


	9. One Year Montage

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A few snip-its of the progression of Gray and Rin's Relationship

Gray ran through the crowds. “Excuse me! Sorry!” He was pushing them out of his way until he came in view of the guild hall. He ran faster, his life hanging in the balance. He burst through the doors. “RIN!!!!” He saw his short friend turn from her conversation with Natsu. “Oh thank God.” He rushed over to her, pulling her away from the dragon slayer, who said some very choice words. 

“What is it this time, Gray?” She asked, hands on her hips. “It’s not even 8 in the morning yet.”

“Ok, so slept with this hot girl, total babe, she woke up when I was sneaking out, and she wants a committed relationship.” He placed his hands on her arms shaking his head, as he continued to speak very fast. “ I  don’t want a relationship with this psycho bitch. I just-”

“Ok-ok-ok-ok! I got it! What does she look like?” She pulled him out of his nervous breakdown.

“Blonde, pixie cut, green eyes, uh-. Beauty mark! Right here!” He pointed at his left cheekbone. He paled as he saw her enter. “Oh, fuck she’s here.”

The girl’s shrill voice rang throughout the hall. “THERE YOU ARE!!!”

Rin looked over her shoulder, got one look at the girl, and swung her arm back, slapping Gray so hard, in the face, he fell to the ground. “You son of a bitch!!” The girl stopped just as she came up to them. “How dare you!! I gave you my heart! And you cheat on me with  this floozy???”

As Gray nursed his face, Rin turned to the girl. “I am so sorry! I had no idea he was-!”

“You know what, you’ve done enough!”

“I’m honestly very-!”

“Just-!” Rin pinched the bridge of her nose, pointing at the door. “Just go.” The girl bowed a couple more times in apology and ran out the door. When she left, Rin held out a hand and helped Gray up. The guild went back to normal, as this was also a normal Sunday phenomenon. “All better.”

“Say that to my cheek.” He was still holding it. 

Rin grabbed his chin, pulling it towards her. “Oh it’s not that bad.”

“Maybe we should, I dunno, practice a fake slap?”

“Don’t be a pussy.” Before he could retaliate, she said. “Come on, let’s go put some ice on it.”

~~~~~~~~~

“C'mon, kid, quit squirming around! You’re supposed to be washed before Rin gets back!” Gray tried to control Jonny as they sat in the bathtub together. The two mages had found that they could only get the 4 year old washed if one of them bathed with him. And since Rin had her boobs squeezed by the kid a few too many times, they decided it was Gray’s responsibility. 

“Bubbles!!!” Jonny splashed his hands down in the tub again, getting water on Gray’s face.

Goddammit… “Jonny, knock it off, we gotta get you clean.”

“No!” He laughed as he splashed Gray again, and jumping out of the bathtub.

“Hey!” He slipped as he tried to chase after the small brunette. The mini heir ran out of the bathroom as Gray finally stood up. He didn’t even bother putting on any clothes as his wet ass ran after Jonny. It didn’t take Gray long to find him, he didn’t exactly have long legs. “There you are!” Laughing, Gray ran forward and swept the screaming Jonny up in his arms. “Gotcha!”He flipped him over and began holding him by his ankles. “You gonna run away anymore?” 

Jonny let out continuous laughter as he managed a, “Haha noooo haha!!”

Gray didn’t realize that they had made it all the way down to the front entrance until he heard the door opening, followed by a “Gray! I’m back! He’d better be-!” She paused as she examined the sight. A wet, naked teen, holding a wet, giggling, naked toddler upside down. She closed her eyes tight and turned her head, lips pressed in a thin line, as if trying to contain her rage. “I’m going to close this door.” She said so stern that even Jonny stopped tittering. “You have ten seconds to fix this sight I’m seeing.” 

She closed the door just as Gray whined. “10 seconds??”

She began yelling through the door. “One, one thousand! Two, one thousand!”

Gray’s eyes widened as he flipped Jonny around and bolted back to the bathroom with him.

~~~~~~~~~

“Yeah, I’d bang Macao.”

“Woah really?” Gray seemed mildly surprised. They were on a train back to Magnolia when they decided to play the ‘Who Would You Bang?’ game. Despite the awkward stares they were getting, they didn’t refrain from details.

“Yeah like, I know he and his wife had Romeo, but you can’t tell me he is not ‘hot dad’ material.” Gray simply shrugged in acceptance. “Ok, would you sleep with… Levy?”

Gray had to think about that one. Sure Levy had a nice body, and they had known each other for a long time, but… “Nah. For Levy it comes down our interests, and we just don’t like any of the same things. Even if I didn’t know her, the chemistry is all wrong. Completely platonic relationship.”

“I get that.”

“Alright! Would you have sex with….” Gray grinned mischievously. “Natsu?”

“Oh hell yes.”

“Wha-!?”

“Think about it, Gray-” He really didn’t want to, actually. “Animal instincts? Natsu being a dragon slayer, me being a snake familiar wizard? Now  that would make for an interesting experience.”

He gave a crooked face. “I dunno I just don’t see it. I think your personalities would get in the way too much. Y’know, like who would the dominant be?”

“I take it you’ve never had angry sex before?”

“Ugh- whatever.” He avoided the question. “Your turn.”

“Mira.”

“Fuck. No.”

“Simple enough.”

“Jet.”

“Maybe. I mean he doesn’t look like he’s packing much but-”

“But he’s got the speed?”

“But he’s got the speed.” Rin agreed, nodding her head. (Maybe 'but he’s got the speed' will be our always?) “Ok what about Lisanna?”

“Natsu might skewer me, but yeah.”

“Don’t forget Mira and Elfman.”

“Ah yes, the siblings of the apocalypse. Let’s not forget them.” Gray chuckled. “What about you? Lisanna?”

Rin sat up straight, stretching her back. “Oh I see, pulling the whole gender switch, huh?”

He shrugged. “I like to keep it fresh.”

She snorted and rolled her eyes. “Yeah. I’d sleep with her. I mean, she’s my closest girl friend in the guild but I’d be lying if I said I haven’t thought about it.”

Gray cocked his head. “Really?”

“Mhm. Y’see, my sexuality is like 80% guys, 20% girls. I prefer guys, but I’ve had a girlfriend or two.”

He nodded. “Yeah, that’s kind of the same for me. 80% girls, 20% guys.”

“Oh really? So would you bang Elfman?”

Gray’s face twisted in thought. “Maybe if he kept the ‘real man’ personality and didn’t turn back into the whiney baby he was when we were younger.”

“Awe, do you like your men big and strong?” Rin teased him in a baby voice.

“Shut up. Erza?”

Her playfulness evaporated to pure hatred. “I’ll kill Erza before I sleep with her.”

Her flaming yellow eyes all but incinerated him.

~~~~~~~~~

“EEEEERRRZAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!” Gray flinched as he heard his partner’s war screech. He turned from his spot at the bar to find Erza and Rin in the center of the guild hall. He deadpanned at the sight in front of him. The entire guild formed a circle around the two girls, trying to make enough room incase somebody got hurt. In the center of the circle was Erza, hugging Rin tightly, and speaking to her in a very loving voice while Rin looked like she might explode. “RELEASE ME!!!”

“But, Rin, you are so cute and adorable, how can I not love on you like this~!” Gray stood next to Lisanna and Natsu.

“Gray, maybe you should go separate them?” Lisanna suggested.

“Yeah, droopy-eyes, ain’t she your partner?” Natsu growled out.

“Erza, so help me, one of these days I’m going to pound you into the dirt and there will be nothing left but that stupid red hair of yours.” Rin was absolutely seething with rage.

“Yeah, maybe I should.” Gray pondered cautiously.

Mira’s voice rang out as she began walking up to the other girls. “Erza, just let go of her already.” 

Gray paled.”Yeah, nevermind, fuck that. Rin is a big girl she can take care of herself.”

Natsu put a hand over his heart as he looked up. “Rest in peace, Rin, you were a valiant friend.”

Lisanna smacked both of them. “Oh, would you two stop it!”

Rin hissed. “Pissss off, Mira, I didn’t assk for your help.”

Erza stuck her tongue out at Mira. “You tell her, cutie pie!”

Rin turned back to Erza. “And fuck you too!”

Mira waltzed up to the both of them, put off. “Now listen-!”

“Rin, I love you~!”

“ARRAGGHH!!!”

~~~~~~~~~

Gray’s eye twitched at the amount of tampons. 

He hated this. He hated this so much. Why were there so many brands? Super absorbent? Why in the hell was it 20 jewel for 10 pads? And why the fuck were the women on the packaging so happy? Weren’t periods hell? 

The whole reason he was standing in this isle was because he was a dumb, stupid, good friend. Rin had been acting pissy for most of the travel into Hargeon, and when they had gotten settled into their hotel-

“Fucking, shit, man!” 

Gray heard Rin’s cry come from the bathroom. “Rin? What’s wrong?” 

“Oh I’ll tell you what’s wrong- I started my period and I don’t have any fucking tampons!”

“You-... What?” It was like she was speaking a different language.

“Blood is coming out of my vagina and I don’t have any vagina bandages!”

He shook his head to snap back to reality. “Why don’t you just go to the store and get some?” 

“My underwear are ruined and I can’t risk soiling anymore of them! Fuck! What am I gonna do?”

“I’ll get you some if you want?” 

There was silence. “You’d really do that for me?”

“Well I mean, you’ve helped me with that burn Natsu gave me on my dick before, it can’t really be that different?”

More silence. “Uh- sure. There’s money in my purse, take as much as you need. Just don’t get me panty liners ok? My flow seeps right through them.”

He didn’t really know what that meant but he just went with it. -

Now he was standing in line at the checkout with a box of vagina-nosebleed type things that the box informed him were tampons, and a type of woman diaper called pads.

As he stepped up to the counter he placed the two boxes in front of the awkward boy that couldn’t be more than a year younger than him. As he looked around, he saw a chocolate bar and decided to get that for Rin as well. When he placed it next to the boxes he noticed the kid hadn’t rung them up yet. He was giving Gray a strange look. “What?” He asked.

The cashier cocked an eyebrow. “You sure?”

It took Gray a moment to register what he meant before he frowned. “It’s not like they’re for me, you idiot??”

~~~~~~~~~

Gray pounded into Rin, her leg over his shoulder. God, he couldn’t get enough of her. She was so tight, and her face. Oh don’t get him started on her face. All scrunched up like that, her eyes squeezed shut, mouth open and letting out that ripping groan from her throat. “G-od! Gray!”

“Fuck-” He sped up when her hand shot up and clawed into the back of his neck. Before he knew what was happening, she had flipped them over and bouncing on his cock. He watched her boobs move up and down with each thrust she gave. He groaned as she slowed down. “Rin~” His hands moved to her hips. “Come on…!”

She slapped his hands away. “Fuck off, we’re doing this  my   way.” Her voice was raspy as she held his hands down by his head and slowed even more. He focused on her eyes, her electric, narrowed, eyes. She looked at him like prey. He’d be lying if he said it didn’t thrill him at least a little. The thought that she might actually bite him, not just leave a hickey, but really break the skin. He bit his lip, trying to hold in his whines. She leaned down, still continuing her torchure, and grazed her fangs over his collar bone. “Don’t hold back your voice~” He couldn’t take it anymore.

He came with a yell, thrusting his hips into hers as fast as he could. She was such a temptress he couldn’t even last longer than her. He was embarrassed, it was not the impression he wanted her to have but fuck- he couldn’t stop it. 

He continued his murderous onslaught of her body when she finally came. Her voice pitched higher with each thrust as she moaned. “ Oh! Ugh.. .Gray yes-yes-yes ahhh… GRAY~!”

“GRAY!!!”

His head shot up from the pillow as he met the same eyes he had previously been dreaming about. “RIN!!” He held the blankets at his waist as he looked around the room. He was in his apartment and so was Rin. She was standing over his bed, a stern look on her face. “W-what’s up?”

“We talked about taking a mission, remember?” He could see her irritation as clear as day. “But since, you slept in, I’m guessing not?”

“No, let’s take a mission. Sorry about not getting up.” He still didn’t move.

She looked around. “Your bedroom is a wreck.” She turned back to him. “Something wrong?”

“I’m a… naked.”

“So? I’ve seen you naked tons of times.” He blushed slightly as her face shifted slightly, almost like she realized something. She got a wicked smirk on her face. “What were you dreaming about, Gray?”

He looked away. “I don't remember…”

“That’s not what that tent is saying.” His head snapped back towards her, face red, glaring in anger. She let out a loud laugh, throwing her head back slightly. “Oh relax! Haha I’m leaving! Hahaha!” Her laughter faded out as she exited his room. 

He gripped at his sheets, the blush still apparent on his cheeks.

~~~~~~~~~

Gray leaned against a boulder, in the middle of a random forest, waiting for Rin. They were on a mission to track down and get rid of a type of monster that was terrorizing a near by village. They had been tracking it for about half of the day until Rin told him to wait while she went to go find it. “You stomping around will only scare it away even more.”

“Well how will I know when you find it?” He asked.

“I’ll leave Haya here. When I trap it, I’ll have her bring you to find me.”

That had been about 3 hours ago. He kept asking the small snake if Rin was ok she reassured him by licking at his face. It didn’t seem to be working anymore. His arms were crossed over his bare chest as he tapped his foot impatiently. He was seriously starting to get worried. He simply shook his head and reminded himself that this was Rin. She could handle this. He looked up at the sky. He hoped she came back safely.

Suddenly, Haya's head popped up, she looked slightly worried. “Haya?” Gray asked. “What is it?” A scream ripped through the air. Gray turned towards it. “Rin!” All at once, he saw Rin herself, hightailing it away from a giant bear-like creature.

“GRAAAAAAAY!!!!!!!!!”

“WHAT. DID. YOU. DO???”

“I FUCKED UP! I FUCKED UP SO BAD!!!!” As she bolted by him, she gripped his arm, picked up Haya, and dragged him along with her. “FUCKING RUN!!!!!!!!!”

She didn’t have to tell him twice.

~~~~~~~~~

It was 3 in the morning and the teens were shockingly subdued. However, that may have just been the alcohol in their systems. There was four empty beer bottles on the floor of Gray’s room, and two half empty ones in each of their hands. Gray sat against the headboard, one leg lay straight out while his other leg was held close to his chest as he rested his beer on it. He wore only his boxers as stared down at his partner. She was wearing short shorts and a tight black tank top as she layed on her back, her feet resting against his thigh. Her black hair pooled around her as she stared back at him, her beer resting on her stomach. 

Her glassy eyes suddenly lit up. “Oh hey, did I tell you I banged that new guy Loke?”

Gray drew up a lazy grin. “Oh yeah? How’d that go?”

She smiled mischieviously. “Oh my God.” She stretched her legs at the memory, her feet rubbing up against his bicep. “Sooo goood…”

“You think you’ll do it again?” Gray asked, taking another swig of his beer. 

She twirled her bottle around. “Mmmm…. I don’t think so.”

“Why not? You said he was good?”

“Yeah it’s just- I mean hypothetically, if we ever have sex, do  not tell me how  ‘breathtakingly beautiful’ I am over and over again.” She tipped her beer back, finishing it, and then dropping it over her head onto the floor. 

“Oh he couldn’t have been that bad.”

She looked directly at him. “Rin, it was such an honor to be allowed inside your glorious body for my own form of worshiping.”

Gray narrowed his eyes. “Whaaat? He didn’t actually say that did he?”

“Word for word.”

He scoffed and shook his head. “He’s got a lot to learn about the girls from Magnolia.”

“Actually he already confessed to being with a ton of girls in general. He’s a real player, you may have a contender for biggest man-slut, Gray.” Gray let out a chuckle as Rin turned over onto her stomach, giving the ice wizard a nice view of her butt. He grinned again finishing off his beer and placing it on the floor. He saw her reaching her hand out, opening and closing it. She could never handle her alcohol that well. “Your place sucks.”

“Well, we’d probably be hanging out at your place, except Fairy Hills doesn’t allow guys inside.”

“Yeah…” She spoke slow and sleepily.

He couldn’t stop looking at her. She was just so fucking pretty. He shook his head. It’s just his buzzed state.

~~~~~~~~~

Rain poured overhead. Gray stood next to Rin solemnly, making sure his hand was always touching his suit so he didn’t take it off. He stared blankly at the ground before him. He knew the rest of the guild was around him too. Well… Most of the guild anyways… 

He was at Lisanna’s funeral. He could hear Mira and Elfman crying, and although Natsu wasn’t here, he knew the dragon slayer was off mourning for her somewhere else. He heard a sniffle beside him and turned his head. He looked down at Rin. She was wearing a black dress that covered her cleavage, with black lace sleeves, and a skirt that came down to just below her knees. Her hair was up in a roll bun that gathered near the top of her head, her Fairy Tail emblem in perfect sight. He tried to catch her eye but they were closed, brows furrowed together as tears silently crept down her cheeks.

He knew Lisanna was her best girl friend, which he always thought was interesting. After all, the two wizards couldn’t be anymore different. From their looks to their personalities they were from two different planets. Lisanna had short white hair and Rin had long black hair. Lisanna had soft facial features, Rin had sharp ones.

He knew her well enough to know that she would’ve just blamed the tears on the rain and would push him away if he tried to comfort her. He quickly noticed she wasn’t wearing a jacket. Without even thinking about it, he took his jacket off and placed it around her, leaving his hand on her back a moment longer before retracting it and stuffing his hands in his pockets. 

Later on, at the guildhall, he and Rin were sitting at the bar, two drinks in their hand, neither speaking. She still wore his jacket over her shoulders, but she was soaking wet, as was he. Gray was hunched over on his elbows as he stared at his drink. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a small, pale hand reach up and grasp his. He latched onto it and squeezed it gently, it squeezed back. He felt the urge to do something with this hand. He couldn’t quite place his finger on it but he wanted to hold this hand, letting the person attached know that he wasn’t going anywhere. That he’d be there for her. 

That she wouldn’t lose him, too. 

~~~~~~~~~

“Surprise, mother fucker!” Rin yelled as she jumped onto Gray’s back from where he was talking to Loke. The male ravenette made a kind of hacking/choking noise as her arms wrapped around his neck, while her legs tightened around his torso.

“EecCHh!?” He asked as a piece of paper was shoved against his nose.

“I  told you I’d get it! It’s the perfect job for our one year anniversary!”

“Anniversary?” Loke asked.

Gray got a grip on her thighs and hoisted her higher, so he could breathe. “It’s almost been one year since we started working together.” He explained. “So Rin has been on the search for a well paid job so we can go to that expensive club downtown.”

Loke turned to Rin, “How well does it pay?”

Gray didn’t have to see the proud look on Rin’s face to know it was there. “10,000 jewel.”

The Ice wizard nearly dropped her. “Holy shit!”

“Told ya!”

“Did you have to fight anyone for it?” He asked amusingly, as Loke made his way towards a few girls. 

Rin hopped off of Gray’s back. “Yeah Natsu put up a pretty good fight but, I won.” She added a wink at the end.

Gray was a bit surprised. “Natsu is working again?”

She nodded. “Mhmm. He seems to be doing a lot better, but I wouldn’t challenge him for a while still.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Gray agreed half-heartedly as he looked around for the pink haired nuisance. “I’m surprised he’s working again so soon.” He said, spotting him at the request board. 

“I guess that’s just his way of coping with it.” She said. “Just not extreme as Mira…”

There was silence before Gray said. “I’d be pretty upset too… If my partner died when I could’ve been there to protect her…”

His eyes were still on Natsu when he heard her say. “Me too…” The two of them watched Natsu from a distance for a while before Rin said. “Well, we’d better get going, the job is at least a half a day’s travel away.”

He looked back to her confused. “Don’t you want to say goodbye to your boyfriend?” She shifted her eyes.” Riiin?” He asked sternly.

“Uhhh… I  may have broken up with him?”

Gray groaned. “What happened this time? And you better not tell me it was because of the sex?”

“Well…”

“It was because of the sex wasn’t it.”

“Kind of but-”

“Rin, we agreed not to break up with people anymore just because we get bored with the sex.” He crossed his arms over his bare chest.

“It’s not  just because the sex got boring!” She snapped at him. “He didn’t know how to take a joke, like,  at all ! So you can’t get mad at me for dumping him.” She crossed her arms and looked away from him, pissed.  


“Alright, alright! But we’re a year older, and if we want to show Gramps that we’re S-class material, we gotta show him we are willing to commit as well.”

“Personally, I think you’re looking way too much into what the old man wants in an S-Class wizard. He doesn’t look at personality, he looks at skill, I mean just look at his grandson for Christ’s sake.”

“Still, we need to start acting like adults.”

“Alright, just go say bye to  your girlfriend while I go pack some supplies.”

“I’ll actually be helping you with that, because I don’t have a girlfriend anymore.”

Rin looked surprised. “Wow, you two were hot and heavy for a while, what happened?” 

Gray scratched behind her head. “She ah- she just wasn’t…”

 

_ “I’m fucking done!” Gray ducked as a mug was thrown at him. When he noticed which mug it was, he became even more upset. It was the one Rin had bought him for his birthday that said  ‘ _ Fuck Mornings _ ’. _

_ “Hey, quit throwing shit!”  _

_ “Fuck you!” _

_ “You can’t honestly still be mad about this can you??” _

_ “How would you feel if I moaned the name of another man while we were having sex!” Gray stopped and looked at the ground.  _

_ “What do you want me to do? What can I do to make it better?” _

_ In a calm voice, she said. “Stop being friends with Rin. I don’t want you to talk to her anymore. You obviously like her a lot more than you like me.” _

_ Gray looked up. “No. If you can’t except that, then get out, take your shit, and don’t come back.”  _

 

“She and I, we just weren’t…” He looked down into Rin's beautiful, electric, yellow, sun-like eyes. “She just wasn’t right.”

_** She just wasn’t you. ** _


	10. It's Complicated

Gray finished buttoning up his shirt as he waited for Rin to arrive.The mission had been a success and they finally had enough money to buy their way into the club they planned on attending. He looked at himself in the mirror, of his bathroom, as he spoke to himself. “Relax, man. We’ve been clubbing together tons of times before, what’s different now?” Now you like her. Like a lot. “So? I liked her when I was dating Stephanie.” You weren’t single. Now you are. “Alright fine, you’re gonna be fine. You are going to be...ah…” He leaned over the sink, almost sick to his stomach. “You’re fucked.” He ran a hand over his face and looked up at his eyes from his haunched position. What if he got too drunk? What if he tried to force himself on her? He shook his head hard at that. He would never do anything like that, even if he was intoxicated; he cared for her too much. 

He stood up straight and looked at a picture of him, Rin, Stephanie, and Claude (Rin’s current ex) taped to the wall. Stephanie was hanging off of Gray’s arm, Claude had his arm wrapped around Rin’s waist, but besides that, it was like they weren't even in the photo. Rin had her head resting on Gray’s opposite shoulder, eyes closed and a smile apparent on her face. Gray rested his head on her’s one eye closed, the other looking right at his partner. Without a second thought, he took the picture down, ripped Stephanie and Claude out, and put it back up. He took one last look at Claude and frowned.

That was another thing. Claude was about one third bigger than Gray. The guys Rin dated were  always bigger than him. It made him uncomfortable just to think about Rin and Claude together intimately. (Even more so when she described it to him) Gray was definitely not her type by any means. Maybe it was a lost cause.

“Hey are you ready yet?” He heard Rin yell, followed by the slam of his apartment door. He walked out of the bathroom and found her bending over the table, double counting her money. He took one look at what she was wearing and struggled to fight down his growing erection. She wore a  tight black dress that had a very low neckline. The sleeves went all the way down to her forearm but they were basically torn to shreds. The left of her dress was also torn all along side, showing that she wasn’t wearing a bra or any panties. Her long black hair was pulled into a loose side ponytail and her make up had a smokey effect. 

“Uh- Yeah, let’s go.” She turned, got one look at him, and almost snorted.

“No. You are  not   going dressed like it’s your cousin’s wedding.”

She walked up to him, the dress forcing her hips to sway. “But I always wear something like this.”

She took the collar of the shirt, tugging it open. “Buttons? Seriously?”

“Careful! You’re gonna break them off!”

“No.” She grabbed his arm and tugged him into his bedroom. “No. No. No.” She released him as she began digging through his drawers as if she had done it hundreds of times before (she had). “Take that off.” He obeyed. When his shirt hit the floor he noticed that Rin was holding up a black V-neck he hadn’t worn in forever. “Is this still too small for you?”

“Yeah.”

“Put it on.”She tossed it to him without a second glance and switched to his closet.

“Why?”

“It’ll show your abs off.” He tried to give her a strange look but she was too busy violently scraping through his hangers. 

The shirt was difficult to get over his head; he felt Rin’s hands at his sides and nearly jumped out of his skin. She grabbed the shirt and tugged hard, his head popping up. The first thing he saw was her mischievous eyes, glittering in amusement. “Here.” She said with a grin, giving him his old, brown, leather jacket. He placed it on his arms and then stood still as she assessed him. She popped the collar up, then put it back down. “Give me your club-eyes.” He rolled his head back slightly, placing a hand in his leather jacket, and leaned back, looking at her with what  she thought was fake lust. Her eyes fluttered slightly. “Wow. Yeah, I’d probably bang you.” She let out a laugh and he forced himself to laugh with her. 

She stared a while longer into Gray’s eyes. “What?” He asked.

“I… I saw what happened to your mug.” He had placed, what was left, of his ‘ Fuck Mornings ’ mug on the kitchen counter. 

He snapped back into his regular standing pose. “Oh you saw the remnants of Stephanie’s terror, did you?”

Rin almost looked appalled. “Stephanie did that?”

“Yup.” Adding a pop at the end.

“Why?” Gray could see the anger building on her face. “Wh-Why? She knew I gave that to you!”

“That’s why she threw it at me. She was scathingly jealous towards the end.” Rin gave him her scrunched up, What-The-Actual-Fuck face. “Don’t ask me why.”

She shook her head out of her daze. “She threw it  at you?” He nodded. “That makes me madder than it breaking!”

She had begun shifting her weight from both of her feet, as if trying to seek out his ex. Gray laughed and put his hands on her arms. “Relax, we’re gonna have a good time tonight.”

She took a deep breath and calmed. “Yeah. Tonight isn’t about  Stephanie -” She spit out the name like poison. “-it’s about us.” Gray hummed mentally.

Us.

He liked the sound of that.

Rin grabbed his hand and began tugging him toward the door. “Now come on, we are so hooking you up with someone tonight. Steph was about a 6 so you’re shooting for an 8.”

“Actually…” He pulled his hand out of her’s. “I’m not really interested in hooking up tonight.”

Rin stood in front of him, hand on her hip. “Why?”

Well… Here goes… “I uh… I’m actually interested in…” Fucking do it. “... Someone else…” What a pussy.

“Who?”

“It’s-” You. “-complicated.” He scratched the back of his head. He could tell she was just as uncomfortable as he was. He always told her who he was interested in. 

She hesitated before gently placing her hand on his arm. “We don’t  have to go tonight, Gray.”

“No! No.” God, he loved the sound of his name on her lips. “I want to go.” He stood up straight, taking her hand in his. “It’s not about you or me, remember? It’s about us.” He looked down at her pale, he wanted to kiss it so bad. “I just…” He rubbed his thumb over it. “I just need a little more time.” He looked into her yellow eyes. He felt as though he had been traveling through the woods for months and he stumbled upon a cabin with a bright, glaring light. “And I promise I’ll tell you everything.” She squinted at him, taking her hand back.

“Gray, this isn’t like when we were first partners. Don’t promise me jack shit, because for some reason, you can’t keep your promises.”

“But I will this time! I swear to keep my promise.” Rin rolled her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose.

“Gray…”

“I  swear to keep my promise, which I will tell you exactly who it is. I just care a lot about this person, and I need more time to chew on it, that’s all.” 

She looked him dead in the eyes and his breath was lost all over again. “Fine. But don’t be a fucking downer the whole time. And  you still have to be  my wingman. Got it?”

** He forced a smile. So she  was  planning on hooking up. “Got it.”   
**


	11. OH BOI I GUESS WE'RE BACK

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Short but sweet!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OH GEE WOULD YOU LOOK AT THE TIME ITS TWO YEARS SINCE AN UPDATE HMMM
> 
> Okay okay okay I know it's all my bad, especially since I promised it was about to pick up. To keep this short: I graduated from high school with a lot of stress, took a gap year to get my mental situation under control, and now I'm in my second quarter of college and I'm FINALLY stable. I probably won't be as frequent with the updates as I would like to be, but I will be slowly working on it.
> 
> Also, while I was rereading all this I found that I... really don't like the direction I was trying to take it :/. So I'm gonna be taking a month to reorganize my story line. This goes with my RVB fic too, The One You Love. I'm also going to be posting a new SP fic that has a few chapters already written. I'm probably going to post them once a month? Just to give me time to write the next chapter.
> 
> This chapter IS short, but like I said, I really don't like the direction I was going so I just decided to shut this small arc down and start a new!

Gray held pounding head in hands. Yes, from a hangover. However, also from worry. Rin had gone home, last night, with a stranger; but that was completely normal. But…

  
“She hasn’t shown up yet…” Gray murmured to Loke who got him a rather large cup of coffee. “Usually she comes back by 9 in the morning, it’s 10:23, where is she?”

  
Loke rolled his eyes. “She’s probably having a little more /fun/ with the guy she left with.”

  
Gray gagged a little. “Shut up… please…”  
“What’d he look like?”

  
Gray placed his head on the table. “Big.”

  
Loke hummed. “That’s rough, buddy…”

  
Loke was the only one who Gray had confided in about his feelings for Rin. The redhead had been helping him get a grip on stupid things like feelings and emotions.

  
“She should be back by now,” he repeated, tapping his fingers against the wood.

  
“Worry when she's been gone for 24 hours, hm? She's probably having fun.”

  
“Yeah!” Gray snapped, “Or she's probably passed out in a ditch somewhere!” He stood quickly. “I'm searching for her.”

  
“Would you relax??” Loke grumbled, “There's no need to go on a vigilante rescue mission! She's a Fairy Tail wizard with fucking snake teeth! She's fine!”

  
Gray opened his mouth to retaliate as the doors to the guild hall opened, revealing a tired looking Rin. She slowly made her way to the bar seat next to Gray’s and sat down with a large yawn. “Mornin’.”

  
The ice wizard gaped at her for a moment, electing to ignore Loke entirely so he didn't have to see that shit eating smirk. Gray really wanted to chew her out. Where had she been? Why was she gone so long? Why hadn't she told him?  
He sat down silently and took a sip of his coffee instead.

  
Rin furrowed her brows at the action and flicked her eyes to Loke. “Beat it, partner meeting.” He sighed and got up, moving to a different spot. Rin returned her eyes to Gray. “Why are you pissed at me?”

  
“I'm not.”

  
She scoffed and rolled her eyes. “You're so full of shit.”

  
He frowned deeper and took another drink of his coffee.

  
She kept staring at him. “I didn't go home with that guy,” she told him, which caused Gray to stare at the table confusedly. “He wanted to leave town and I said no.”

  
“Then why didn't you come in earlier this morning?” He asked, his worry betraying his voice a little.

  
She frowned softly. “I got a letter from Kanis.”

  
He looked over at her, brows furrowed. “Really? Saying what?”

  
She huffed. “He saw that article in Wizards Weekly suggesting that you and I are dating.”

  
His heart fluttered at the idea. “Uh huh?”

  
“He wants to meet you.” She rolled her eyes. “Approve you or… something…”

  
Gray pursed his lips. “And that's… bad?”

  
“I've been avoiding all of them for years… I don't want to see them.”

  
He hummed and sat up straight. “Are you sure you aren't just afraid of seeing them?” She glared at him. “I'm being serious. I'm not going to make you do a damn thing but… they miss you. I'd miss you too.” He leaned in a little, touching her shoulder with his.

  
She sighed. “I… I just can't see them… I can't.”

  
“I understand… That's okay…”

  
Rin looked up at him with sad eyes. “Am I bad…?”

  
He shook his head slowly. “No… just short tempered.”

  
She sniffled. “I'm sorry for making you worry…”

  
He wrapped an arm around her. “I'm sorry for being crazy protective.”

  
She laughed breathily. “If you weren't, my ass would be grass sometime in the last year…”

  
Gray chuckled a little. “Yeah… I just… don't want to imagine a world without you.”


	12. Frozen

Gray was having the fucking  _ best  _ jerk off session. He was sprawled out across his bed just fucking going at it. His head pressed back against his pillow as his back arched up. A moan drifted from his lips, his tongue darting out quickly afterwards. He was imagining, you guessed it, Rin wearing sexy black lingerie dancing. He really couldn’t help it, she had performed her intoxicating snake dance at the talent show and as far as he was concerned she killed it.

He gasped as he got close. He just needed one final push. One more little thing to make him lose his mind.

His front door opened and slammed. “Gray!” Rin called.

His eyes shot open. “F-fuck..!” He tried to muffle his groaning and whining as he came into his hand. His free hand fell over his burning face. God damn it.

Gray’s panting was the only thing he could hear, the rest of his home way too quiet. He knew she was still there because he hadn’t heard the door open and close again. He gulped and sat up. He cleaned himself up quickly before pulling on his underwear and pants. He was doing his belt up as he walked out, seeing Rin frozen by his door, her pale face a bright pink.

When she saw him, she tried to scramble for an excuse or apology, but he just shook his head and waved her off as he went to his shitty kitchen for a glass of water. “Don’t even bring it up please.”

“I am  _ so  _ fucking sorry, Gray, oh my God.” She followed him.

“Don’t be,” he said as he filled his cup.

“But I-”

“I am interested in blacking it out so, don’t.”

She froze, looking down a little. “Sorry…”

“Whatever.” He shrugged and downed his water. “You know I masterbate. It’s fine.” They stood there awkwardly for a little bit before he cleared his throat. “What do you want.”

“Uh-uh… Uh I was wondering if you wanted to go on a job…?”

He pursed his lips. “What kind of job?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know. A long one preferably.”

Gray furrowed his brows at that. “What are you running from?”

She sighed, blush calming but was still very much there. “Elfman…”

He examined her closely. “Why…?”

“He… asked me out?” Rin looked at him hesitantly.

His gaze hardened, trying to smother jealousy. “That’s… you don’t want to?”

She rubbed her arms. “I don’t want to be with anyone right now.”

That  _ definitely _ peeked his interest, he wasn’t sure if it was a good feeling or a bad feeling though. “Really?”

She glared at him a little. “Yes, asshole. It’s possible for me not to be with someone.”

He rubbed his temple. “That’s… I didn’t mean-”

“What? Don’t think I can do it??”

“No.” He grabbed her arms. “I think it’s a good idea. Really. I really do.” She relaxed into his touch, taking a step forward and resting her head on his bare shoulder. His arms wrapped around her in a hug. She was so teeny…

“Can you tell Elfman no for me?” she mumbled.

“Sure thing, Rin.”

“And pick up a job too?”

“A long one right?”

“Mhmm.”

“I’ll go do that.”

“Can I snuggle in your bed?”

“I mean the sheets are sweaty and gross but I won’t stop you, you freak.”

She giggled and he smiled. “I’ll just chill in your kitchen. Thanks.”

 

-

 

Gray actually felt a bit of pride by telling Elfman to piss off. He’d done it in nicer terms but he enjoyed it nonetheless. He began to wonder if his infatuation with Rin was beginning to turn into something creepy and possessive and that worried him a little bit. He often had these thoughts because his was practically a small dog, bouncing off the walls with anxiety. Loke tried to remind him that if he was he was really as creepy as he thought he was, then he really wasn’t that creepy at all. It made sense somehow. Loke was a good friend but Rin was able to calm Gray down about basically everything. 

He felt a push at his back and saw Natsu shoving his way to the front. “Stop hogging the board, ice-freak.”

Gray narrowed his eyes and shoved him right back. “Fuck off, fire-breath.”

Natsu flared up at him. “What are you going around shoving me for??”

“You pushed me first, moron! What is your brain full of so much smoke that you can’t even recognize your own body movements?”

The dragon slayer growled a little. “You tryin’ ta square up, man?”

Gray felt his chest get flare. Natsu hadn’t started a fight in  _ months _ . This was the first fight he wanted since Lisanna died. He puffed up his chest. “Depends on if you are, salmon head.”

Gray couldn’t help his smirk as he was punched in the face.

 

-

 

“What the hell happened to you?” Rin asked as Gray went back to his apartment sporting a couple burns and a black eye.

He smiled at her, seeing her sat on his couch with Haya sleeping in her lap. “Natsu fought me.”

Rin blinked and then smiled widely. “Ah! Really? That’s great!” She hopped up. “What kind of job did you pick?”

He pulled the paper from his back pocket and handed it to her. “Bandit round up. There's a group causing trouble at an inn near Clover. Shouldn't be too difficult but it’ll take maybe a week.”

She hummed and examined the page. “Good find, Gray.”

He smiled proudly. “When do you want to head out?”

She hummed. “We could go today? If we bust a move we’ll be in town late tonight, sleep in at a hotel, and then meet the client for dinner tomorrow.”

He nodded. “Sounds good to me. Meet at the train station in an hour?”

“Yep!” She chirped, smiling. “See you later!” She walked towards the door. “Also your clothes are off again.”

“Agh!”

-

Rin yawned loudly as their train started up again. She leaned against Gray’s shoulder, eyes slipping closed. “This was a bad idea. I'm so fucking tired.” 

He hummed as he pet a sleeping Haya. “It's only 2:30 am… we’ll be there in an hour.”

That only made Rin groan tiredly. “And then we have to find a hotel which will take another 30 minutes.”

He looked down at her droopy eyes and sighed. “You can sleep?”

“And leave you alone with your thoughts?” She scoffed a little, teasing him. 

Gray laughed softly. “I’ll wake you up when we get there. Promise.”

“What did I tell you about your promises?” She sighed. 

“I’ll wake you up. Honest I will.”

“You'd better.” 

“I  _ will _ .”

“Good. I'm trusting you,” she mumbled, relaxing against him.

He smiled softly as he felt her breathing even out. He dared a glance down at her, seeing her eyes closed made him even happier. She had so much trust in him it was kind of shocking really. His little anxious heart was normally so petrified of failing her, fluttering around and keeping him on the edge of a constant panic attack. But now? Gray’s flapping heart was actually calm. It was a little scary for his heart to be beating that slow. He paused, about to start panicking but calmed as he heart his pulse in his ears just once.

He yawned and rested his own head on her’s, gazing out the window. It was too dark to see outside so he was left to look at their reflection. He had to admit, they looked good together. 

“Excuse me?” An attendant came by, deep bags under her eyes. “May I offer you and your girlfriend a complementary blanket?”

He looked over and blushed. “O-oh no we’re not. She’s not. Uh. Um. Y-yes please, thank you.”

She smiled gently and draped it over them, waving as she walked off again. Gray sighed, a little warmer; he wasn’t sure if it was the flush or the blanket, but either way it was making him sleepy. 

He let out a big yawn and let himself snuggle closer to Rin, eyes closing for just a moment. When he opened them again he wasn’t on the train. He was waking up in his apartment. He sat up and rubbed his eyes in confusion. Something was off. His room was cleaner? He didn’t remember cleaning it this month… He heard something in his kitchen, like a voice. He quickly got out of bed to go investigate.

As he exited, he saw Rin’s long black hair making some food. Odd. He normally didn’t have food in his place. He shrugged walked further out. Gray was about to speak when he noticed that Rin was… uh. Wearing his shirt. And her panties. That was it.

He gasped a little which caught her attention, she looked over and smiled. “Morning, sleepyhead. You slept in long enough.” She walked over and pecked his cheek, lingering long enough for him to process what was going on.

“We… had sex…?”

She pulled back and raised a brow. “I didn’t expect you to be  _ that _ smashed… But yes. We did,” she laughed and turned back to the stove. “Do you want eggs?”

“Uh- no not hungry. Um?  _ Why _ did we have sex??”

Rin looked back at him again, completely confused now. “I? Are you serious?” When he just stared at her blankly she began to glare. “ _ Dude _ .”

“I! I’m sorry! I don’t know what’s going on!” He tried to move to her but his feet didn’t move. 

“Oh my God, the amnesia trick,  _ really _ ?” She scoffed and pushed past him. 

“No I’m serious, Rin, I  _ wait _ !” He tried to reach out for her but his entire body was practically frozen. “Come back please!”

“I thought you actually felt something for me, instead you were just lying to get me into bed.” She pulled on her pants, starting to take off his shirt.

“ _ What _ ??” He breathed, absolutely distressed. “I  _ do _ but I’m being serious! I’m stuck and I don’t know what to do!”

“Oh really?? Is that what it is??” She tossed the clothing at him and leaned down for her own shirt.

“ _ Yes!! _ ”

“Well whatever you’re stuck on, I suggest you fix it because I’m not going to wait around for you forever.” She pulled on her shirt and stormed out, slamming the door.

**Author's Note:**

> I made Rin's magic up for this story. Familiars are known for being WITCHES spiritual companions but I though hey why not mix it up a little. And they actually aren't really spiritual companions they are more like animal guides. Anyways Familiars are also known for being able to take human forms but Haya is not like that. If you really want to know what they are really like look it up or something.


End file.
